Gohan's Legacy: Legacy Through Courage
by Power9987
Summary: Gohan struggles with his new powers. How does Gohan make his own legacy and what challenges does it bring? Will he become his own hero, or will he give in to the darkness within? Part 1 of 3 in the Gohan's Legacy series.
1. Prologue

**A/N: This is my first fic. I wanted to write a story on how Gohan went from being "the son of Goku Son" to "Gohan Son, the defender of Earth." Basically, it's a story on how Gohan created his own legacy and the hardships he had to go through to do it. **

**This is the prologue of the story; this is only the beginning. This will be a longer fic. and a multi-part story. I already have over 100,000 words typed on this story. My original plans were to make this a 25+ chapter fic and then have a sequel, making it a two part series. In this case, I would have to update at a pace of one every two weeks in order to keep a consistent update pace. **

**I've gotten complaints that this would be too far in between updates so ****I've been thinking of ways to make these updates more frequent and I came across an interesting thought. I was playing with the idea of making this a three part series instead of a two. That way, I don't have to worry about keeping up with the time schedule since the last chapter of this installment of the series would be chapter 12, and I already have Chapters 1-10 already written. After debating over this for a few days, I have decided that it would actually make more sense to do it this way anyways since the story is already long enough with these chapters alone and it actually make sense to end the story at that point plot wise too.**

**What does this mean? This means that I will be updating more frequently! I'm debating to do either weekly, or twice a week on Mondays and Fridays. Let me know what you guys think about this.**

**Now on to the prologue! As always let me know what you think. I would like to give a shout out to both my brother and my good friend silverstardust for reading over all of my chapters and making sure that they make sense. Thank you guys!**

"speech"

_thoughts_

_"telepathic communication"_

~change in setting~

*action*

* * *

Prologue

~Cell Games Battle Site, Age 767~

"AHHHHHHHH!" Eleven year old Gohan Son is finally unleashing his deeply hidden power. All of the Z-fighters and the mini Cell Jr.'s they were all fighting are all standing there wide eyed at how much power the young chibi has… everyone except his father, the legendary Goku Son.

Everyone thought Goku was crazy when he said he gave up in favor of his son fighting the battle. Even Gohan himself thought the idea of him being stronger than his father was absurd. Of course, everyone knew Gohan was strong for his age. Heck, the kid's a freakin' super saiyan at age eleven! To say that he was strong was one thing, but to say he's stronger than his father, _the _Goku Son, who protected the Earth from countless villains and just proved that he was far stronger than every one of the other Z-fighters in his recent go at Cell was something completely different. Goku however just gave Gohan a reassuring smile and started to prove his point.

He walked over to Gohan and had asked him if he had any trouble following the fight. Gohan, to everyone's great shock answered, "N-no… I could follow just fine… but that's because you weren't going all out! If you were then–"

"Gohan, I don't know about Cell, but I was doing my best," the father cut off his son, who starts to sport an amused look at the shock registered on his son's face. "But to you, you thought I wasn't trying huh. I think I know what's going on. You automatically assumed that I was stronger than you so when I had yet to reach your own ki level in my battle you assumed that I was still warming up, am I right?"

"…Yeah, you're right…"

To say that everyone (including Gohan) was in complete shock would be an understatement. Goku had just proved his point using undeniable logic that his son was indeed stronger than him. Of course this didn't stop others from still questioning the feat. Vegeta was in complete denial. _This is madness! _The saiyan prince silently seethed. _How could that spawn of a third class baka such as Kakarot be so strong!? It's impossible!_

"So, Gohan," Goku continued. "Go fight Cell and beat him so we can all go home." He spoke with such confidence. The look in his father's eyes told Gohan that he truly believed that his son was more than capable. Seeing this confidence from his father gave the young demi-saiyan confidence in himself.

He looked up at his father and gave him a determined look that he derived from his father's confidence and support. "Alright dad, I'll do it!" He was a little hesitant at first, but deep down, he knew that his own dad wouldn't just throw him into a battle he couldn't handle… would he?

Gohan proceeded to fly down to the battleground. He looked up with Cell a little apprehensively, but when he felt his ki, his confidence skyrocketed. _He's fatigued from his battle with dad! His ki is way down. I can easily beat him now I know I can!_

Of course Goku also noticed that the grasshopper humanoid known as Cell was weakened. He wanted to get a true measure of his son's strength so he did another thing that questioned his sanity in the eyes of everyone else: he gave Cell a senzu bean. To most this would definitely be considered sending his own son to his death. Goku however made that claim that it wouldn't be a 'fair fight.' This comment shows his unequaled, unwavering faith in his son. He's so confident in Gohan's strength that he believes that Cell needs to be at his best just for the fight to be close.

This had the opposite effect on Gohan. While showing no outward signs of apprehension, inside his confidence was wavering. _What does dad think he's doing?! This is _Cell_ we're talking about!_ At this point Cell was powering back up to his full ki level. Feeling the android's new ki level, Gohan makes a decision._ Now how am I supposed to beat him? Well I might as well go all out from the start._

Gohan powers up to his maximum. Powerful winds swirl around the preteen and he disappears in a cyclone of dust and light as his ki continues to rise. Eventually, the hurricane winds cease and the young demi saiyan is engulfed in a golden aura as his ki reaches its limit. Gohan looked up at Cell and gave him a cold stare. "Okay Cell! I'm ready!"

All of the Z-warriors besides Goku couldn't believe what they were feeling. Gohan's ki was much higher than his father's was and it was on par with that of Cell. Even the green android itself was impressed and actually looked eager to fight the young warrior.

And that's what he did. Cell charged Gohan and threw an array of punches and kicks and Gohan dodged them all with great ease. It was obvious Gohan was the fastest of the Z-fighters. His small size also helped him be more elusive. When Cell saw that this wasn't working, he was forced to bring out some more of his true power and increased his ki. After that, he started getting some good blows in and eventually gave Gohan a devastating roundhouse kick that sent him all the way through a tall mountain made of solid rock, burying him under hundreds of giant boulders.

Everyone (except Goku once again) thought Gohan was finished after this. Piccolo was the most adamant since the young demi-saiyan was his one true friend.

"Goku look at what you've done! We warned you this would happen if you let Gohan fight Cell! Now look, HE'S DEAD! YOUR SON IS DEAD!"

Goku however still had a soft smile on his face. "Piccolo, Gohan's fine. Can't you still feel his ki?"

"What? Hold on… Yes! It's there!" Piccolo responded, letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He was genuinely relieved that his gakusei was indeed still alive. "How could I have missed it? It's still so gigantic!"

Cell however, caught up in himself after the kick thought that he had killed Gohan. "There Goku. You happy now? Take your senzu bean and let's resume our fight!"

"Baka! Look behind you!" Goku yelled back at the green menace. He wore a smug look on his face.

Cell turned around just in time to see the remains of the mountain that Gohan crashed into fly into the air and a golden light come out from underneath. Out from the golden light came Gohan, surrounded by his golden aura shining brightly around his body. Yes, the young hero was very much alive. It would take much more than that to take him out for good.

Gohan slowly strutted back to the battle site. He knew that at this rate he could not beat Cell, so he took a different approach. Being the peace lover that he was, he tried to reason with Cell and tell him that fighting was pointless and that he hates fighting. After the android merely mocked him for telling him this, Gohan pulled out what he thought was his trump card.

Gohan told Cell why he thought his dad had put so much faith in him. Gohan explained that every time he would get angry when he was little he wouldn't be able to control himself and suddenly, he would get this incredible power and use it relentlessly. His calm, controlled demeanor he had been displaying, even during his battle with Cell, would vanish and he would go absolutely nuts, turning all of his power on the target that caused this anger. He also didn't fail to mention that while in this uncontrolled state, every enemy that he faced was beaten down. He gave him countless examples from Radiz to Freiza.

The point of Gohan telling Cell this was to scare him into stopping the pointless fighting. However, this plan backfired completely. This actually _intrigued_ Cell, the saiyan cells in his body getting the best of him. This game was getting too boring to him. He needed a challenge. After Cell had heard this story, he really wanted to see Gohan mad. He started doing everything he thought of to provoke Gohan, but nothing was working. Gohan had the steely resolve not to lose control. He was afraid of the damage he might cause when he lost it. That was, until Cell had started attacking all of his friends and his father.

Cell had managed to spawn many "mini Cells" which he called Cell Jr.'s. He then proceeded to send them to kill off all of Gohan's friends until he lost control. Gohan was slipping ever so slightly, but was still holding onto control, until all of a sudden, Android Sixteen's head came rolling in between Cell and Gohan (Android Sixteen had been blown up by Cell earlier). He told Gohan not to hold back: to protect the life that he cherished ever so much. That's when Cell crushed his head, silencing the Android for good. At that precise moment, something in Gohan snapped and the hidden rage that he had been so intent on keeping caged up had been set free into the transformation now currently being witnessed.

Gohan has finally lost it. His ki continues to grow to everyone's amazement. Cell even starts to panic as Gohan's ki continues to surpass his own. Goku starts to smile, beat up and all from his fight with Cell and his subsequent fight with his own Cell Jr. He isn't hiding how proud he is of his son's strength, not that anyone would notice. Everyone was still staring at Gohan as he continues to get even stronger than anyone could even imagine.

Goku is beaming at his son at this point. He was the strongest warrior for the longest time, but now his son has surpassed him. Words could not begin to describe the sensation he was feeling. Every father's goal is to shape their child into being not just as good, but even _better_ than themselves, and Goku is currently witnessing the passing of the torch of Earth's hero and the strongest warrior in the universe from father to son.

Gohan lets off one more yell and the golden aura that is surrounding him now engulfs him, making him look like the burning sun above. Then, his ki suddenly makes the biggest leap anyone has ever felt and the flame starts to subside, but the golden aura continues to surround him, now with bolts of lightning surrounding him. Gohan has gained an extra two inches in height and his bulky muscles have gotten even bulkier. His spiky golden hair has shot straight up except for a stubborn lock that hangs over his forehead. He has obviously undergone yet another transformation, making him a super sayian 2.

Yet the most dramatic change in Gohan is his attitude. His eyes show no glow; no innocence; no peace. Instead they are dark and cold. In this new 'super saiyan 2' form, his calm demeanor has vanished. In place of it is one of rage; one of pain; and one of revenge. Out are the peaceful, merciful intentions. In are the intentions of merciless revenge!

"You are gonna pay Cell!" Gohan screams with authority. He sends the menacing android the coldest look it's ever seen. Cell's still standing there, shocked at what has just transpired. Finally he comes back to reality and does his best makeshift grin.

"Well well well." He says with a smirk that doesn't quite reach his eyes. "Looks like things are finally gonna get interesting."

Gohan simply walks up to Cell, who had snatched the healing senzu beans from Krillin earlier, and in a blur of motion, takes the beans back, shocking Cell to say the least. He then proceeds to use his super speed to track down all seven of the Cell Jr.'s and take them all out in a no-nonsense way with one blow each. This stuns everyone else since they were struggling to stay alive against them, even Vegeta and Trunks, who were past the normal super sayian level. Gohan then passes the senzu to Trunks, who is the only one still not too beat up, and tells him to distribute the senzu to everyone else, and using his new speed, zooms back to the battle site right in front of Cell.

Cell was now furious that Gohan had taken out his children so easily. He was now ready to battle himself. He punched and kicked with all his might, but in vain as Gohan dodged everything Cell threw at him. He might have been fast before, but now he is faster than anyone in the universe. He made it look incredibly easy to simply dodge punches and kicks that everyone else on the battle field couldn't even follow.

Gohan is simply toying with Cell. He hasn't even made an attempt to block, let alone attack back yet. This makes Cell furious. "WHY ARE YOU TOYING WITH ME?!" He screams in frustration. "THAT'S IT! NOW YOU WILL EXPERIENCE THE WRATH OF MY FULL POWER!"

"What!?" Trunks cries in response, now finished giving everyone a senzu. "He wasn't even fighting at full power?! He must be bluffing to scare Gohan!"

Cell starts to power up, a golden aura starting to surround him. His increase in ki is producing a huge gust of wind and making the Earth shake below him. His ki keeps increasing steadily, making all of the Z-fighters once again wide eyed and shocked. They couldn't believe how much power Cell was hiding.

"Well I guess this blows my theory out the window!" Trunks grunts.

Finally, Cell reaches his maximum, the golden aura continuing to surround him. He now has a giant smirk on his face as he looks at everyone's faces contorted in fear. Well everyone except one who actually looked bored and unimpressed.

"Is _that_ all you've got?" smirks Gohan. He is actually chuckling a little. All of the other Z-fighters are just as shocked as Cell at this reaction from Gohan.

"Ha!" laughs Cell, now smirking even more. "You think you can fool me with that bluff? I will show you true fe–"

Cell was cut off by a fist to his gut, which made him keel over in pain._ How!? _He thought _How did he do that?! And… why does it hurt so much?!_

"Well if this is all you've got, then I would be worried if I were you!" Gohan says, now angry and boring those ice cold eyes directly into Cell's. "YOU WILL PAY FOR ALL THAT YOU'VE DONE!"

Gohan proceeds to absolutely beat the crap out of Cell. This battle is so lopsided that one almost starts to feel sorry for Cell… that is until they remember what he did to everyone. Cell then attempts to blow up the Earth with a full power Kamehameha wave. Gohan nonchalantly shoots a more powerful Kamehameha back at Cell and it rockets the two waves at Cell, leaving the green android in a very bad position: he has gotten the whole left side of his body blown up. He's completely defenseless as he needs to build up energy before he can regenerate his lost limbs.

"Ugh..." Cell manages to grunt weakly. "How… i-is th-this possib-ble… he's just…. a k-kid…"

"Gohan has won!" yells Yamcha jubilantly. "He did it! He beat Cell!"

"I will say this," Piccolo says calmly. "He is in bad shape, but don't forget, he has MY cells in him! He can regenerate… but… what is Gohan doing?!" Piccolo's getting very concerned now. "Why hasn't he finished off Cell yet?! He has him outclassed by far!"

"You're right" Goku says, now sharing Piccolo's concern. At that moment he yells to his son. "GOHAN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING, FINISH HIM OFF!"

"Finish him off?" Gohan yells back. He shoots his dad a disappointed look and then gives him an almost evil smirk. "Sorry dad I think I'll wait. I'm gonna make him suffer more. He deserves it!"

"Wait, what?" Goku's dumbfounded. Did he just hear his son say that he wanted to make someone suffer? He would never say that even if it was Cell. This power was changing his son, and not in a good way. "GOHAN! WE HAVE TO END IT NOW! DON'T LET HIM GET DESPERATE! WE DON'T KNOW WHAT HE'S CAPABLE OF!"

Gohan simply gives his father a soft smile, giving him the message that he's got it under control. Goku however is still apprehensive towards the whole situation. He knows that Cell, despite being outmatched by far, will do just about anything to win. If he gets desperate, who knows what he will do, plus his son is not himself.

"He's changed…" Goku mutters. "I didn't think the power would get to his head. No, not _my_ son!" Goku still is in denial at the whole situation. Gohan is acting like he never has before. He has become completely arrogant and bloodthirsty. He is obsessed with making Cell suffer for everything that he's done. In other words in some ways, he's become just as bad as Cell!

"That much power can corrupt anyone," Piccolo says reassuringly, "especially someone like Gohan who isn't used to that kind of power. Let's just pray that he comes to his senses in time and this change isn't permanent."

At this point, enough time has passed for Cell to build up enough strength to regenerate his lost limbs. He then goes in a fury like no other, pouring out all of his ki into his muscles, increasing their size tenfold.

"YOU WILL PAY FOR MAKING A FOOL OUT OF ME!" Cell furiously shouts. He then starts to throw punches at Gohan which Gohan easily dodges. Cell may have way more power now, but his bulky muscles are slowing him down.

"Hey look!" Trunks shouts enthusiastically, eager to point out Cell's flaw. "He's making the same mistake he mocked me for! He's so bulky that his speed is suffering!"

At that moment, Gohan decides it's his turn to attack. He gives Cell a jaw cracking roundhouse kick to the face, launching Cell across the landscape where he lands 1000 feet away. That had to hurt… Gohan doesn't stop there. He uses his super speed to teleport over to Cell and then delivers a sucker punch to the gut, bringing the evil green android down to his knees.

"Y-you're not a b-boy… you're a m-monster!" Cell weakly manages to choke out. Speaking of choking, Cell appears to be choking on something…

"Cell is finished," states Piccolo. "And soon he will lose his complete form."

"What do you mean Piccolo?" Krillin inquires his green ally.

"Watch and you'll see what I mean."

Cell now looks like he is about to gag. Sure enough, a minute later, he coughs up something big, about the size of a person.

"Android Eighteen!" Krillin shouts, both in shock and in relief. It's been painfully obvious that Krillin has had a crush on Android Eighteen the moment she pecked him on the cheek when they first fought the androids. He's extremely happy to see her again, even if she is covered in Cell's saliva at the moment.

"What does this mean?" asks Trunks of Piccolo.

"The end of Cell," he states bluntly.

What Piccolo said indeed comes true. Cell lost his complete form and now is back in his first transformed state. Cell's ki decreases drastically as well, so now even Vegeta or Trunks could finish him off now.

"What have you done!?" Cell yells wrathfully.

"Well, this battle just got even more boring!" Gohan says with a sigh. "Oh well, I guess my blows will hurt even more now." Gohan twists his mouth into a sadistic grin at this statement and he gives off a very disturbing chuckle.

Cell quickly tries to escape, but Gohan, who by now is far above him in strength and speed, catches him in an instant. He then kicks Cell across the battlefield once again, leaving Cell lying face down in the dirt. Gohan approaches this very weak Cell mockingly, looking down at him with a wide grin now.

He kicks Cell across the battlefield, Cell not being able to defend himself. He then warps to Cell and kicks him into the air, uses his speed to warp to a place above him and kicks him towards the ground only to warp below him to kick him back up in the air, essentially playing a game of tennis with himself using Cell as the ball.

Everyone can only watch as Gohan continues to pummel the defenseless android to a pulp without the slightest care. Even Vegeta is repulsed by the sight. The only person he would have thought capable of being this cruel to someone was Frieza, but not even Frieza went _this_ far.

Goku looks on at his son with an indescribable look. Gohan is turning into the same monster that Cell is. He never thought he'd see the day when his innocent and gentle Gohan would prolong a battle he could win without even trying in order to make someone suffer, even someone as evil as Cell. As secure as victory looks at this point, Goku cannot help but feel scared at what Gohan is becoming. He couldn't take it anymore. As horrible as Cell was, it doesn't mean that he deserves this. This would be stooping _below_ his level and his son is _far_ too good for that. He desperately tries to break through to his out of control son. "Gohan! Stop this RIGHT NOW! He's completely defeated! Finish him off this instant!"

Gohan does not take kindly to his father's orders. "NO! He _deserves _this punishment! Remember what he's done _dad_!" saying the word "dad" mockingly. "Are you telling me that he doesn't deserve to suffer?!"

Goku is absolutely appalled at his son's behavior and actions. With clear anger in his voice, he yells "GOHAN! _No one_ I repeat, _NO ONE_ deserves to go through what you're putting Cell through. He will pay for his actions in the afterlife. No matter how bad someone is, they don't deserve _this_! Be the one with the bigger heart son! Don't lower yourself to him!" Goku is desperately pleading at this point, on the verge of tears.

At this point Gohan is furious with his dad. How _dare_ he tell him that Cell shouldn't suffer with as many horrible deeds as he's done. "SHUT UP! I will come after _you_ next if you try to tell me to stop one more time!" at this Gohan let Cell fall into the ground, holding onto life by a thread. He then gives his father a look colder than absolute zero, showing him that this is no empty threat.

Goku froze at this. He could no longer recognize the boy, no the _monster_, that he called his son. That look in his eyes spoke volumes of what has become of him. He was so taken aback that his eyes started to well with tears. Goku, the world hero and toughest man in the universe was reduced to tears by his own son! The other Z-fighters noticed this as well and they were all terrified to say the least. What happened to Gohan?

Seeing the faces of his friends and seeing his dad sobbing brings Gohan back to reality. He realizes that he was the one who caused all of this. Completely ashamed of this revelation, he detransforms back to his original super saiyan state and the innocence returns to his eyes. "What have I become…" he softly whispers.

Piccolo, who was still watching Gohan intently the entire time, is the first to notice this change back to normal. He immediately smirks and turns to Goku, who is still sobbing. "Goku! Gohan's back to normal! Look up!"

Goku manages to choke back a sob and looks at his son. His frown turns into a relieved smile as he looks into his son's eyes and sees the _true_ Gohan reflected back. "Thank Dende! I was afraid we lost him."

Gohan flies down to the imperfect Cell who is lying in the crater, beaten to a bloody pulp, yet somehow he's still conscious. He looks at the android in horror. _How could I do this to anyone? What happened to me?_ Gohan is feeling more than regret for his actions. It is at this moment that a tiny seed of self-loathing is planted in the young demi-saiyan's mind. He hates himself for what he became, but there are more important issues to take of at the moment. He needs to redeem himself for what he did, and the only way is to destroy Cell now and end his reign of terror on Earth.

It's then that Gohan feels Cell's ki start to flair uncontrollably. Now back to being his old rational self, Gohan figures out what Cell is trying to do and devises his own scheme to finish the android for good.

Cell tries desperately to get on his feet. In the meantime, Gohan starts charging a Kamehameha wave that will send Cell to the next dimension. As soon as Cell gets on his feet and starts to use his self-destruct technique, Gohan releases his powerful Kamehameha and it obliterates Cell into subatomic pieces. Not a trace of Cell remains.

He did it! Gohan did it! Cell has been beaten, and his reign of terror is no more. As soon as the Kamehameha wave disintegrates in space, Gohan turns back to his base form for the first time in weeks and falls to the ground exhausted. He does however have a giant smile on his face. The rest of the Z-warriors quickly run over to the eleven year old savior and surround him, looking at him in awe.

"Gohan, I'm SO proud of you!" Goku genuinely says. Of course he already had an astonishing amount of pride in his son, but after defeating the most powerful enemy they have ever encountered before without even really trying, he now has an immense amount more pride in Gohan.

"You did good kid," Piccolo reassures Gohan. Piccolo was the first to train Gohan, and Gohan was his first real friend. He too has an immense amount of pride in Gohan.

The smile on Gohan's face fades into a small frown at the praise he's getting. He doesn't feel he deserves the praise after what he had become during the fight with Cell. "Dad…" Gohan struggles to say. "I'm… sorry…"

"What?" Goku didn't expect his son to say this. After defeating a threat to the universe, he didn't expect the first thing for Gohan to say was that he was sorry, although Goku has a good clue on what he is sorry for.

"I'm sorry that I got caught up in my power…" Gohan continues, exactly as Goku thought he would.

"Hey don't worry about it," Goku replies reassuringly. "I'm just glad that you managed to find yourself again at the end and finished it off before he could blow himself up and take the Earth with him."

After thinking it through for some time, Goku understands completely how his son could have been affected by all that power. Gohan had just turned into a super sayian for the first time less than six months ago, and after pouring out all of his power in his fury against Cell, he transformed into a super sayian 2 for the first time, a level that no one would have even begun to imagine existed. Having all of that power introduced into your system in such a short time not only affects one physically, but gives one a sense of power mentally that they've never even felt before. It's no wonder he was arrogant for a while. Still though, Goku wonders why it got so out of control and wonders if he can teach Gohan how to control himself when in the super saiyan 2 state. Eventually, he will inquire Piccolo of these things and Gohan of how he felt, but now is not the time. Right now, his son needs reassurance that he did great and that he's not mad at him in any way.

"But dad… I started torturing Cell… I even threatened you… my own father… I completely lost control… how can you be proud?" Gohan then gives a rejected look. "If anything you should be ashamed."

"How could I be ashamed?!" Goku inquires disbelievingly. How could his son ever think that he would be ashamed of him? "Gohan, I have no clue how you lost control, but I know for a fact that that wasn't the real you torturing Cell. I am so proud of you because you realized your mistakes and atoned for them by beating the single most powerful villain we have ever faced, not to mention you passed me in strength. There is absolutely _nothing_ to be ashamed of and I am so damn proud to call you my son!"

Gohan seemed to brighten up after that statement by his father and the smile returned to his face. "Thanks dad… Again… I'm… sorry…" Gohan struggling to say those last three words.

"Hey easy there son. Don't stress yourself. I've already forgiven you!" He then saw how beat up his son actually was from earlier and saw how exhausted he really was. "That battle sure took a lot out of you huh." Gohan simply nods, and then passes out.

"Gohan!" shouts a concerned Krillin.

"Don't worry," Piccolo reassures. "He's just exhausted. Let's take him to the lookout. Dende can heal him no problem."

With that, Piccolo picks up Gohan and starts flying towards the lookout.

After watching Piccolo head for the lookout with his son in his arms, Goku turns to the rest of his friends. "I'm going to go with Piccolo to the lookout. I need to check on Gohan. You guys coming?"

Krillin was the first to answer. "You bet! Remember that Gohan is one of my best friends too. I want to make sure he's okay."

Yamcha, Tien and Trunks all agree to join their friend. Then Goku inquires the same question of Vegeta. "You coming Vegeta?"

"Why should I care about your half-breed son?!" Vegeta shouts. He's still hurting from the major blow to his pride from not only having Kakarot surpass him, but now his half-breed whelp as well. "I have better things to do with my time!" and with that, he takes off towards Capsule Corps.

Trunks sighs and looks back at his father's retreating form with disappointment. He then becomes angry. "He's such a jerk! How can he act that way? Gohan saved his life and that's the thanks he gets?" To Trunks, Gohan is more than just a friend to him. In his timeline, Gohan protected Trunks fighting the androids while training him as well. Gohan was basically like an older brother to Trunks and without him, he would have died before he even got the chance to come back. His own father saying that he doesn't care about Gohan hit a sensitive spot in the adult demi-saiyan.

Goku walks over to Trunks and pats him on the back and gives him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry too much about it Trunks. You're father's a good guy; he's just too arrogant for his own good. He probably is more proud of Gohan than you think because Gohan is a saiyan and showed the power of a sayian."

Tien decides to join in the conversation expressing a concern that everyone has. "Speaking of Gohan's 'display of power' earlier, do you know what was going on with your son Goku? It's like he turned into a ruthless killer once he transformed again."

"Tien's right Goku" Trunks adds grimly. "That look that was in Gohan's eyes was the same look the androids in my time had. No mercy; no regret; no compassion. Just hate, anger, and killing intent."

"I know." Goku responded rejectedly. "That was not the Gohan I know. But it was only in his ascended super sayian state that he was like that. Remember when he detransformed back to his first super sayian state that he turned back to normal. I still don't know what caused him to lose control like that in his ascended state since I've never been there myself." He is as clueless as his friends and he doesn't like it. It is his son they're talking about for crying out loud! "My only guess is that all of the power introduced into his system in such a short period of time affected him mentally. That combined with the pure unrestrained fury that we saw was probably the cause." He then perks up a bit at his former idea. "Perhaps though, I can help train Gohan to be able to control that state so he can use it freely like his super sayian state. That is my goal as soon as we get settled in again after all of this. Until then though, there's really nothing to worry about. Cell's gone. Gohan won!"

After a long silence from the others, Trunks finally perks up. "You're right Goku. Gohan's the man! We should probably get going to the lookout. Piccolo's probably almost there at this point and it will take a while for us to fly there."

Goku gives Trunks his patented Son grin. "No it won't Trunks! Don't forget, I can use instant transmission."

"Oh yeah!" Krillin responds. "We'll get there in no time! Let me just grab Android Eighteen so Dende can heal her and then we'll get there in no time!"

As Krillin is rushing over to the female android, everyone gives him expressions of shock.

"What?" exclaim both Yamcha and Tien.

"Are you serious Krillin?!" shouts Trunks in frustration. "She's a killing machine! She would terrorize the earth if she's brought back!"

Goku however gives Krillin his approval. "Trunks, the androids in this timeline are far different from the ones in your timeline. Everyone deserves a second chance. Even if she turns on us, Vegeta, Piccolo, Gohan, and I are all capable of putting her in her place again. There's really nothing to worry about." He then looks over at Krillin and gives a cheesy grin. "Besides, I have a feeling Krillin has some ulterior motives for saving her too" He then starts to chuckle lightly.

Upon hearing Goku's comment, Krillin's face turns bright red, but he continues over to the android facing away from his friends. _Thank Dende I'm facing away from them. I would never hear the end of it if they saw that. _

Krillin picks up Android Eighteen and heads back over to Goku and everyone else. They all connect hands and Goku transports everyone to the lookout via instant transmission.

Everyone who was at the Cell games though still has the same question in their minds. What happened to Gohan when he ascended? And what could this mean for Gohan and everyone around him if he does ascend to this level of domination and ruthlessness again?


	2. Rebellion

**A/N: Hey hey! I would like to thank Pranktical Joker, Dr. Blue22, Shiva the Sarcastic, GohanFanfics, GohanSsj4, GenoBeast, Ese cabron, Ky111, and Quequay for reviewing and showing support for my story!**

**About the pace of posting updates: I've realized that I've been writing at a much faster pace than I originally thought, so I've decided to do updates twice a week on Mondays and Fridays. I hope that this is frequent enough for the most of you since this is my absolute limit.**

**Now, about the chapter: This part of the story is more my own. I hope that you like it! Let me know what you think in your reviews. I do take other reader/writers thoughts into consideration and edit accordingly if I believe a concern is valid. This will be extremely important later in the story as I am playing with some complicated concepts so any feedback is greatly appreciated!**

**Just a note about my battle scenes: I absolutely SUCK at writing battle scenes; therefore, they will not be in great depth. I usually will avoid incredibly lengthy, gory, in depth battle descriptions, and usually they won't be more than a few paragraphs long. This does NOT mean that there won't be many battles in this story; in fact, there are plenty of battles and they all are pretty significant. They will just be short and simple. I'm much better at describing character's thoughts and analyzing situations and actions. If you're one of those people who read stories for the battles, I'm sad to say that this story is not for you.**

**I realized that I forgot to do the disclaimer last chapter so here it is. Disclaimer: I do not own DragonBall Z or any of it's characters.**

"speech"

_thoughts_

_"telepathic communication"_

~change in setting~

*action*

* * *

Chapter 1: Rebellion

~Mount Paoz, 439 Mountain District, Age 767~

Four months have passed since the Cell games. The Z-fighters used the dragon balls to bring back all of those that were killed by Cell. Krillin used the second wish to remove the bomb imbedded in Android Eighteen's body. Of course once she recovered from her unconscious state she was in after the Cell games she immediately stated that she didn't need anyone's help and she took to the skies, leaving Krillin in a heartbroken state. However, as of yet, no reports of "terror attacks" by that android have been reported, much to the surprise and relief of the Z-fighters.

After the wishes had been made, the Z-fighters said their farewells and went their separate ways. Tien went back to his village in the mountains by North City to train and continue to strive to new heights. Yamcha and Trunks went back to West City, Trunks to see his 'past mother' and Yamcha to continue his baseball career. Yamcha had decided on giving up fighting and focus on his baseball career since he figures that Goku and Gohan can take care of any threat that comes their way. Trunks prepared to set off back to his timeline the following day, with his newfound confidence and strength from his trip to the past. Krillin dejectedly went back to Master Roshi's Island, where he had been living ever since the 23rd Budokai. His plan however was to track down the female android that had stolen his heart. He currently is on that search.

After he left the remaining Z-fighters at the Cell Games battle site, Vegeta flew back to Capsule Corps., which isn't surprising in itself, but his reasons are. He went back obviously to use the gravity room to train and become stronger than Kakarot, but he also went back to spend some time with his son. After his training session with Mirai Trunks in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, Vegeta realized how much his son actually meant to him. Because of this, he wanted to spend as much time with his infant son as he could so he would know his father like Mirai Trunks never got to.

Goku and Gohan said goodbye to their friends and headed back to their home in Mount Paoz. As soon as they opened the door to their humble abode, both of their heads got a painful meeting with incredibly hard cast iron which could only be Chichi's patented frying pan of Armageddon. She was so hysterical at both males, Goku for allowing her 'precious baby' to fight that 'horrible green monster' and Gohan for becoming extremely arrogant and threatening his own father. She had seen the whole thing on Baba's magical crystal ball and saw everything that happened from Gohan defeating Cell to that big oaf Hercule Satan getting swatted out of the ring by Cell like a common housefly. In the end though, she was overjoyed that her baby was back and that he was able to finally rid the evil that was Cell.

Speaking of Hercule Satan, as soon as the Z-fighters left the site of the Cell Games, Hercule was in a state of shock. Since he was an accomplished fighter (at least on normal human standards) he was the only one of the unfortunate humans that were at the site of the tournament to not get knocked unconscious from Gohan's super saiyan 2 transformation. Only after Cell had been defeated had they all come to and Hercule claimed the victory as his own. The reporters had taken his word for it (after all, he was the only one left who had seen what had happened) and the world celebrated their new reign of peace crowning Hercule their champion. They even went as far as to name a city after the man, renaming "Orange Star City" to "Satan City."

Of course, Chichi was furious about this. How dare that awful man take credit for what her son accomplished! Gohan however was glad that Hercule took the credit. Seeing his mother's incredulous look, he went on to explain to her that he didn't want the credit; he didn't want the fame that went with it and felt like the real reason was just to protect the Earth, not for the glory. He also went on to explain to his mother that the press would be all over them as well and that they would never get any real privacy. At this reasoning, Chichi sighed and reluctantly agreed with Gohan to keep the truth oblivious to the public, although she noted that the truth will come out eventually.

Gohan had his own reasons as well as to why he chose to not take credit for the defeat of Cell that he never disclosed to his parents. He feels like he doesn't deserve the title of a hero. He still feels incredibly guilty for his uncontrolled state during his fight with Cell. Unknown to everyone else, the accusation by his mother earlier had hit Gohan extremely hard, making him feel even more regret and self-loathing. He is ashamed of himself for torturing the android and for stooping to his level. However, he feels the worst about threatening his father. He still can't forgive himself for the situation he put him in. He had never seen his dad cry before, and he had broken him down into tears, as well as terrified the other Z-fighters. True heroes don't torture and they certainly don't threaten their allies. For these actions, he feels like he deserves to be punished and he still hasn't forgiven himself for these actions even though his father and friends already have.

The biggest news of all though was the day that Goku and Gohan got back from the Cell games. After her relentless tirade of her son and husband, the Son matron announced to the two that she was pregnant with another child. This news came as a shock to them and they both took the news rather differently. Goku took the news quite well. He was excited for someone new to train and he was also excited for Gohan to have a new sibling so he wasn't as lonely.

Gohan however was terrified. After all of the emotional turmoil that happened in the last few hours, he immediately panicked and fled the scene. He still didn't trust himself after what happened and he didn't want to risk hurting someone else close to him. His whole life, he had always wanted a younger sibling, but now he couldn't bring himself to be there for them. He knew that he would get attached to his younger brother or sister and he didn't want to put them at risk of getting hurt by him. He needed to get his emotions straightened out before he could return.

Goku had immediately gone after Gohan as soon as he left. Gohan sensing this, transformed into a super sayian and flew as fast as he could. Goku, knowing he couldn't keep up with his son, used instant transmission to cut him off.

"Dad! Get out of my way!" Gohan shouted angrily. He was annoyed that his dad could just teleport in front of him using instant transmission. He made a mental note to ask him to teach him that later.

"No! Not until you tell me why you ran off like that." Goku retorted with an authoritative tone. Goku was quite confused by his son's behavior and frankly, he was deeply concerned by his reaction. He knew that Gohan wanted a younger sibling more than anything, so why after finding out that his greatest wish was coming true would he just run off like that?

Gohan was taken aback by his father's seriousness. "I… I don't…" Gohan replied in a dejected tone. He found it hard to tell his dad what it was that bothered him. He didn't want to make him relive the moment and he didn't want him to worry, although his actions have already made that happen.

"You don't what son?" the father asked his son more gently. Hoping to coerce his son into telling him, he added, "You know you can tell me anything right?"

"Yeah… sorry…" Gohan now felt regretful for reacting the way he reacted to his father. "I don't trust myself dad..." Tears were starting to form in the young saiyan's eyes. "I can't forgive myself for what I did earlier… I don't want to lose control ever again, and I feel like I am not safe enough to be around my little brother or sister. I'm… too unstable and very dangerous. I bet you really hate me for doing what I did back there."

"Gohan, I love you!" Goku reassured his son. "and I am so proud to call you my son–"

"LIAR! HOW CAN YOU LOVE A MONSTER LIKE ME?!" the distressed demi-saiyan shouted back, now with tears streaming down his face. "I _tortured_ Cell to the extreme! No one, not even _Cell_ deserves what I gave him, no matter what they did! And I even threatened to _kill _you, my own _father_!" his voice then gets quiet and he looks away, not able to make eye contact with his father. "There's no way that you can forgive me for that…"

Goku was shocked at his son's words. How could he think he's a monster? This really concerned him and he wondered just what his son was going through. Wanting to smash all doubts of his son's amazing character, Goku was quick to reassure him. "Gohan," Goku replied in a calm tone. "You are my son. That alone is grounds for my unconditional love. But son," Goku then placed his hand on Gohan's chin and forced him to look up into his reassuring eyes. "The reason I can so easily forgive you and the reason I am so proud of you is because you _realized_ these mistakes. You realize what you did and you've learned from the experience. No one's perfect Gohan. Everyone makes mistakes, especially considering the circumstances you were in. Can I tell you something Gohan? If I was in the same situation as you, I don't think I would have been able to control myself as _well_ as you did."

To say this statement shocked Gohan was an understatement. "What?" was all Gohan could say getting wide eyed. This surprised Gohan in the utmost. His father is the most calm, carefree person in the world, no, the universe! How could he control his anger better than his father?

"You were under so much emotional strain son. I would have exploded too if Cell had done everything he did to you to me. I was on the other side of the spectrum when you unleashed your hidden power. I could never imagine what you went through seeing all of your friends getting brutally tortured before your own eyes, yet having no power to stop it. The only time anything close to that happened to me was when Frieza came back from the spirit bomb, shot Piccolo, and killed Krillin. That resulted in me turning into a super sayian for the first time. I was furious and I completely lost control of who I was. You remember that don't you?"

All Gohan could manage to do was nod, still in shock at his father's earlier declaration.

"And do you still consider me dangerous?"

"NO! Of course not but–"

"But nothing! The point is son that I learned from my mistake and vowed to never let it happen again and it hasn't."

Gohan looked up to his father and nodded, understanding what he was getting at. "Okay dad, I think I understand. I vow to never let it happen again. I promise dad that I will never go into that ascended state again."

"Woah there Gohan, I never told you never to go super saiyan 2 ever again. You just need to control that state."

"But dad, what if I _can't _learn to control it and it happens again. Nobody's strong enough to stop me." He had serious concerns about ascending. He remembers all too clearly what the rage felt like and what all of that power did to him. He knows what it takes to trigger the deadly transformation, and he is very doubtful that he will _ever_ be himself in such a state.

"Gohan…" Goku once again forced his son to look him in the eyes. "If you are set on never letting your control slip ever again, you _won't_ ever lose complete control _ever_ again. Remember son, _I_ was in an uncontrolled state the first time I transformed, and I _never_ was out of control again. I was determined to not lose myself in that state. And now, I'm the same as a super saiyan as I am in my normal state."

Gohan was still doubtful despite his father's reassuring words. "But dad… I just– I just can't allow myself to ever slip _that_ badly ever again. Plus I still don't have control of that power yet. I need to get extremely angry in order to even reach that state."

Goku however was well aware of this predicament. "Son, it's just like your super sayian state, only it will take a lot more energy and self-control. You already have the power. All you have to do is unleash it in a similar way as your super saiyan state. If you manage to do that, you should be able to transform at will. Once that happens, you will never have to worry about losing control again. Don't worry Gohan, Piccolo and I will help train you so you can control this state. I promise."

"Are you sure dad?" Gohan was still nervous about his control. Personally he believes that it will take a very long time to even have partial control and he doesn't want to put his father or sensei into that dangerous of a situation. He'd much rather just never ascend again.

"Of course I am! You are my only child– oh I mean my oldest child" Goku corrected himself chuckling. "I forgot that you have a new brother or sister on the way ha ha!"

The thought of his new sibling brought a smile to the young demi-saiyan's face. "Yeah that's right." Gohan looked up to his dad with a newfound determination in his eyes. "I _will_ learn to control my ascended state for the sake of my new brother or sister. Who knows what new threats I'll need to protect them from. I may need that ascended state later." It may be very scary for Gohan, but his love for the new sibling that's on the way trumps his trepidations.

"Now _that's_ the Gohan I know. Never backing down from a challenge and determined to protect those closest to him." Goku beamed at his son. "That is why I'm so proud of you son."

"Thanks dad." Gohan was now in a much better mood and doesn't feel as guilty. However, deep down, he still hasn't forgiven himself for his actions.

"Let's head back home Gohan. I bet your mom's worried sick about you. Scratch that, I _know_ your mother's worried sick about you. I'd be prepared for that frying pan if I were you."

Gohan grimaced at the mention of the notorious cooking utensil that could control even a super saiyan. "Yeah I better" Gohan responded causing Goku to laugh. Goku then puts his hand on his son's shoulder and using his free hand, puts two fingers on his forehead and instant transmissions them both home. As expected, Chichi smacks her son with the frying pan of Armageddon upon their arrival.

* * *

Over the four months that pass, Gohan trains every day with his dad and Piccolo, much to the annoyance of Chichi. Despite the adamancy of both her husband and son, she still thinks that training is a waste of time and that Gohan should spend that time studying. However, Goku managed to get Chichi, albeit very reluctantly, to allow him to train Gohan by explaining that Gohan needs it more to help him get over what happened at the Cell games, and Chichi, having seen the whole thing, didn't want that happening again.

Today is a perfectly normal day at the Son household. Gohan has just finished studying Advanced Calculus for the past five hours (remember he's only 11 years old for crying out loud!) and has now been given permission to train with his father and Piccolo for the rest of the day. He flies to their normal training spot in the forest by their house at Mount Paoz.

Over the past four months, he has made remarkable progress in his self-control. Gohan still can't transform at will, in fact, he only has been able to reach super saiyan 2 five times, but he's been getting steadily closer every time and in the past three days, he had been able to transform.

He learned that transforming into a super saiyan 2 is actually a lot different than transforming into a super saiyan. For one, it takes a vast amount more energy to make the jump to the next level. One has to be extremely far above a normal super saiyan in order to even attempt it. The activation ki required is enormous, and right now, Gohan is the only one with that kind of power.

He also found out that the trigger is completely different. While transforming into a super saiyan comes in response to a need, the super saiyan 2 transformation requires much more emotional stress and pain. Unlike the first transformation, the second takes a great deal of fury to unleash, making it almost impossible to replicate. Gohan realizes that _this_ is why he struggles so much with this transformation, and this theory also shows to him how he could possibly lose control of himself in such a state. The anger and emotional pain is almost overwhelming. He has however been finding out that it takes less anger each time he reaches the ascended state, also making it much easier to control in the process.

Also, true to his word, he has never been completely out of control again. Granted, there were a few times when his dad and sensei had to get revived by Dende, but Gohan had always come back to his normal self before it got too out of hand. Yesterday was the worst it has been. It had been an extra stressful day for Gohan since his now four months pregnant mother had one of her worst mood swings and took it out on Gohan, telling him that he doesn't study enough and that he needs to put out more effort into his studies. Gohan was used to this type of treatment from his mother since this has been happening throughout her pregnancy. But this time she threatened him with human sized meals for the next two days (which to a demi-saiyan is like starvation) and no training for a month. She then forced him to study for another three hours in order for him to show her that "he's serious about his studies."

This got Gohan in an incredibly restless mood. It's not like he despised studying, but he hated being _forced_ into extra studying for no good reason. So on that day, he took his frustrations out on his father and sensei, both of whom were knocked unconscious by a relentless tirade of a super saiyan 2 Gohan.

Today however, Gohan is in a particularly good mood. His mother sincerely apologized for her actions, again saying that her hormones got the best of her, and allowed Gohan to train extra early today much to his delight. He's excited to get started. The young demi-saiyan feels like he's on the verge of a breakthrough in controlling his super saiyan 2 state.

Before the Cell Games, Gohan was adamant that he hated fighting. However ever since the events at the Cell Games his attitude has changed. He now _enjoys_ fighting. He once asked Vegeta why this would be, since his father could come up with no reasonable explanation. The answer that the saiyan prince gave him was that his saiyan side, which was previously dormant, must have come out during his transformation into the ascended super saiyan. He also explained that this is also one of the reasons why he was so relentless towards Cell, as a saiyan's first instinct is to fight and kill. Of course for asking him for this information, Gohan had to agree to spar with the saiyan prince.

Gohan was reminiscing about a particularly good shot he got on Vegeta in the solar plexus during that spar when he is shaken from these thoughts as he is forced to quickly dodge a wayward ki blast from the spar that is taking place between his father and sensei. It's common for Goku and Piccolo to train with each other while waiting for Gohan to finish his studies. They usually test out new techniques at this time or they measure certain aspects of fighting. It seems today that they are measuring how well they fight with ki blasts.

Gohan's early to his training session so they both aren't expecting him yet. They're too focused in their intense spar to notice Gohan's presence. Gohan, who is highly entertained by the match between his father and his sensei, just continues to watch contentedly, dodging wayward ki blasts every so often. However, his attention is drawn elsewhere suddenly as he feels an incredibly high ki very far away and then quickly disappears as soon as it came. This ki felt like the epitome of pure evil, but it is definitely not on Earth. He's just so surprised that it's so powerful that he can pick it up from so far away. Knowing how far away it is, he realizes there's nothing he can do about it at the moment so he makes a mental note to ask his father about it later.

Or maybe he won't have to. He looks back to where his father and sensei were sparring to see that they too were looking in the direction of that large ki. They both start discussing it with each other, still oblivious to the fact that Gohan is also present.

"Piccolo, did you feel that?" Goku asks the Namekian warrior with obvious concern in his voice.

"Indeed I did," Piccolo responds in a low tone. "That ki was enormous! And it was definitely not a friendly ki either."

"Yeah no kidding. It was so far away though, definitely not on Earth." Goku then thinks about what could be so powerful and evil. "Do you think it could be Cell?"

"No I don't think so. That signal was too strong to be Cell. Besides, he's gone, Gohan made sure of that."

"_Goku! Can you hear me?!" _a voice sounds suddenly seemingly out of thin air.

"King Kai is that you?" Goku responds.

"_No it's your mom. OF COURSE IT'S ME YOU NIMWIT! WHO ELSE CAN TALK TO YOU LIKE THIS"_

"Well Chichi can talk with me telepathically through our bond–"

"_YOU IDIOT! DO I SOUND LIKE YOUR WIFE?!"_

"Well no, but you asked me who could talk to me like you can." Goku answers sheepishly.

_*slaps forehead*_ _"Whatever! Honestly Goku sometimes you're impossible."_ King Kai answers annoyed.

"What do you mean by that?" Goku asks cluelessly.

"_Never mind that. The reason I contacted you is because I need you and your son to come to Other World right away! There's been a rebellion in Hell led by Cell and Frieza; both are much stronger than there were in the living world!"_

"No way!" Goku shouts incredulously.

"_Yes Goku, now do you realize how dire the situation is? We need you to take out Frieza and Gohan to take out Cell! You guys are our last hope!"_

"I'll do it King Kai, but how do we get to Other World from here?"

Before King Kai could respond, a young voice shouts out, "Use instant transmission dad!"

Goku turns to face the new voice that just interrupted his conversation. "Gohan! You heard that?" asks the surprised Goku.

"I've actually been here for quite a while dad. I saw you and Piccolo sparing and I decided I would watch, not wanting to interrupt. Besides, it was entertaining."

"So your mother let you off of studying earlier after making you study extra yesterday? Talk about day and night!"

"She is four months pregnant dad, giant mood swings are notorious of–"

"_HELLO! WE NEED YOU GUYS RIGHT NOW! REMEMBER? REBELLION IN _HELL_?!"_

"Oh yeah he he…" Gohan and Goku both chuckle sheepishly, rubbing the back of their head in the classic Son gesture. "Sorry King Kai. We're on our way!" Goku replies cheerfully.

"_You better be." _King Kai grumbles through the link, cutting it off in the process.

"You ready Gohan?" Goku asks his son seriously, but his face showed excitement thinking of the new challenge that awaits.

"You bet dad! They're not going to see what hit them!" Gohan says excitedly. He too had a gleam in his eyes that showed how much he was looking forward to using his training.

"Remember son, you _will_ have to use super saiyan 2 in this fight. I can handle Frieza but you need to take Cell. He's beyond me if he's gotten stronger still."

"Gotcha dad! I've been looking forward to using super sayian 2 in a real battle. Let's go!" Gohan does a fist pump in the air. Goku chuckles at his son's antics. Who knew Gohan would ever be this excited for an actual all-out battle… well it might not be all-out for him as Gohan's all-out could do some serious damage but you get the idea. Not wanting to make his son wait any longer, Goku places one hand on his son's shoulder and puts two of his fingers from his free hand on his forehead and senses for King Kai. He has to stretch his senses very widely but eventually finds him, and after a nod of farewell to Piccolo, instant transmits to Other World with his son.

* * *

~Upper Heaven, Other World~

The sight that greets our heroes is one of chaos. Immediately they both feel two extremely high kis which they assume are Cell and Frieza. They also feel a bunch of smaller kis that feel like allies, most likely past fighters that have died and are now training in Other World. At the moment they are holding their own against the evil duo, but there are definitely signs of them slipping in the battle. Gohan has to immediately catch one of the good warriors as he is knocked towards him by a roundhouse kick of Frieza's. There are also two warriors double teaming Cell, one is a green alien from the Western Galaxy named Pikkon and the other, a human from thousands of years ago named Oedipus. Both have very large kis; however, the devious android appears to be toying with them as he is only blocking and dodging with little effort at the moment.

The battles are taking place in some random part of Upper Heaven, although Goku does recognize the area. He doesn't remember where it's from though until he sees the end of Snake Way in the distance. _This is right where King Kai's planet is supposed to be,_ he remembers. _But wait, where is it? _"King Kai where is your planet?!" Goku shouts over all of the clashes. The allies are starting to take some good hits at this point making Goku more urgent. "Isn't this where it's supposed to be?!"

"Cell blew up my planet!" King Kai shouts back. Him and the other three Kais and well as the Grand Kai are watching over the situation and trying to figure out a way to stop the evil leaders. "I contacted you as soon as it happened! I thought that these fighters would be able to handle the situation, but both Cell and Frieza have grown tremendously in strength! You two are our last hope!"

"Cell blew up your planet?!" Goku's shocked. He knows that King Kai's planet, despite being much smaller than Earth, is amazingly more durable. It must have taken a ton of power to destroy that planet. "Dang you're not kidding! They really are tons stronger!"

"Yes I said that already!" King Kai shouts back over a particularly loud blast. He then looks over to see that Frieza has just taken out three more of the warriors, leaving only two left to fight him. "Hurry up an–" *boom* another loud explosion cuts off King Kai and he turns another way to see both Oedipus and Pikkon falling out of the sky unconscious.

"OH MAN! DAD WE BETTER GET GOING!" Gohan exclaims as he sees the two powerful warriors falling from their battle with Cell. He immediately powers up to super saiyan and starts to build up more strength. Goku, seeing the urgency of the situation, does the same.

"HA! Oh man that was quite boring." Cell says mockingly. "I didn't think taking over Other World would be this _easy_!"

Finally finishing off the last of the two warriors, Frieza joins Cell in his mocking. "Yeah, that was too easy! Maybe we _overdid_ our training in Hell! I wanted a little bit more of a challenge"

"Well you just got one!" Gohan shouts, now at his maximum power as a super saiyan. His father soon joins him and gives Frieza a death glare, also at his maximum power. Both of their kis exceed Frieza, but since he can't sense ki, the galactic tyrant is still as cocky as ever. However, Cell's ki still far exceeds both Goku and Gohan.

"My my. If it isn't the stupid monkey and his low-life brat," Frieza says mockingly. He still has a smug look on his face from when he defeated the past heroes. "You do realize that you have no chance against us right? We've grown much stronger since we've been here."

"Enough Frieza!" shouts Goku furiously. Up to this point he has been relatively calm, but after seeing him fight and defeat all of those former heroes of the universe and having to hear his voice again he becomes very angry. He reminisces to everything Frieza did while on Namek: he killed many Namekians to gather the dragonballs; he killed Vegeta ruthlessly without mercy; he fought and badly injured his son; he attempted to kill him, but instead shot a beam through Piccolo's chest; and the icing on the cake is that he killed his best friend and training mate Krillin right in front of his very eyes. These are the events that led to his super saiyan transformation and these are the reasons he hates the galactic tyrant with a passion. However, unlike last time, Goku is able to keep control and not let his anger get the best of him. His anger subsides a little and he puts an uncharacteristic smirk on his face. "Heh, wasn't it a 'stupid monkey' that sent you here Frieza?"

"WHY YOU INSOLENT BAKA! DIE!" with that, Frieza launches at Goku and the battle for Other World begins.

Goku dodges Frieza's initial attack, swiftly moving his body to the left, leaving Frieza in a vulnerable position with his arm stretched out. Goku takes advantage of this by giving Frieza a quick, but powerful jab to the side, causing Frieza to go flying into the distant golden yellow clouds of Upper Heaven. Goku immediately gives chase and the battle resumes, blow after blow echoing throughout Upper Heaven.

Whilst Goku and Frieza battle it out, Gohan and Cell remain stationary for the time being, just glaring at each other. The amount of hate radiating between the two super powers is very apparent in the dead cold stares that are exchanged in the standoff, the only sounds coming from the epic battle going on all around them. Finally, Cell ends the standoff. "Well, well, well. If it isn't little Gohan, the one who caused me so much pain and humiliation," his voice full of venom and hate. "We meet again, except, _I_ have the advantage now!"

"Heh." Gohan responds, sporting a smirk on his face. "Don't make me laugh Cell. You really think that _this _is my full power? Looks like you forgot already how much power I really have" Something about seeing Cell again brings out a Vegeta-like arrogance out of Gohan. Normally he isn't one to boast or predict certain victory, but when he sees Cell his normal attitude flies right out the window. _Wow. I really need to watch myself. I can't let what happened last time happen again. This will be my true test. I will be in control of my ascended super saiyan state!_

"Oh I didn't forget," Cell retorts seethingly. "How could I forget the torture you put me through?" Cell however starts to chuckle after saying this. "I must say I was very impressed. I didn't think _you_ of all people were capable of such torture. It was absolutely fantastic!"

_This guy is nuts!_ Gohan thinks. _He's actually_ impressed _by the torture he went through?_

"Yes Gohan," Cell continues, now sporting a smirk of his own. "You have much more power than me, but you know as well as I do that you can't control it. And if you unleash it again, you may defeat me, but you will take my place!" Cell starts an insane laugh. Gohan stares at Cell during his maniacal laughter, not showing a bit of emotional change. Finally after the laughter subsides, he continues. "When you tortured me, you showed me that you are _far_ more capable of carrying out my goals. So go ahead, unleash that power, but you will only be taking my place! HAHAHAHA!" a new round of insane laughter starts from Cell.

Gohan takes in all of this smack talk from Cell and smirks. _How far from the truth you are Cell. You have no idea the training I've been through._ While waiting for the laughter to subside however, Gohan feels another ki, only for a brief moment, but very close… and very evil. _That was the same power I sensed earlier while watching dad and Piccolo spar. So it was in Other World? Hmm, I wonder who that is and what is going on. If I could feel this power all the way from Earth, that's not good. I guess he must be dead if he's here so it can't be much to worry about at this moment. I need to focus on Cell right now._

Gohan brings himself out of his thoughts, trying to regain focus on the battle at hand. Finally Cell stops cackling, so Gohan finally is able to say something. "Cell, you have no idea what I've been through. You think I wouldn't work on such a major weakness. Now I'm just as calm in my super saiyan 2 state as I am right now." Even though he still hasn't been able to completely control this state as of yet, it now takes very little emotional stress to transform now. Even the slightest of anger can trigger it now, which he already has enough of by just looking at the green abomination. This allows him much greater control of his ascended state, although he still has trouble controlling all of the pure anger that comes with the state.

Cell goes wide eyed and panics for a second before smirking and chuckling. "HA! There's no way that you could have gained so much control in that short amount of time. You probably can't even unleash it unless I try to kill all of your friends again!"

Gohan doesn't verbally retort. Instead all he does is take a look at the green android known as Cell. He looks into his hate filled eyes and instantly remembers everything he did. Then, something goes off in Gohan's mind like a light switch and his ki skyrockets. This time however, instead if an ear piercing scream of agony, Gohan just lets off an annoyed grunt as the transformation to Super sayian 2 takes place. His hair becomes spikier and stands straight up with the exception of one stubborn lock of golden hair that rests on his forehead. His muscles increase in density and size, giving him an extra two inches in height. His aura is bright gold, making him look like a star. Blue electricity gracefully dances around his body, displaying the sheer power of this state. _Yes that was almost natural. I almost have this down to an art. I have a feeling in our next training session I will have complete control._

With the transformation complete, Gohan's ki is far above anyone's ki level in Upper Heaven. He looks at the completely fear stricken Cell with his ice cold eyes. A smirk comes across his face as he starts to see his mortal enemy tremble. "Now do you realize what I meant Cell? This transformation is nothing now! Get ready for the beating of your afterlife!" _Okay maybe I still need work on my attitude._

_What are you talking about? Beat this guy to a bloody pulp!_

Gohan is taken aback by a completely new voice inside his head. He's never heard it before, but it sounds so familiar. _No! No one deserves that, not even Cell!_

_What are you talking about?_ the voice responds. _Remember everything he did, he tried to kill you and destroy everything and everyone you cherish. He needs to pay for that!_

_NO! _Gohan argues, still confused as to where the voice is coming from. He takes a glance around to look for anyone and sees no one but Cell. _I refuse! His punishment is eternity in Hell!_

_That's not enough. He deserves more! Why don't you play a rounding game of tennis with him like last time?_

"SHUT UP!" Gohan screams at the top of his lungs. He doesn't realize that he screamed that out loud. Cell stops trembling at the moment and starts mocking Gohan.

"HA HA! I was right! He's completely insane!"

Upon hearing Cells mocking, Gohan's anger rises, causing his ki to spike to uncharted territory. No one has ever had this much power before. Unfortunately, his control slips as well. "That's it Cell! Prepare to die!" Without hesitation, Gohan starts the battle by warping towards Cell at an unimaginable speed and punching him directly in the face. Cell, who has his guard down as he was mocking Gohan took the blow full force, launching him miles away into the golden clouds of Upper Heaven. Gohan then proceeds to beat Cell relentlessly, not allowing him any chance to counter.

_Good. Now you're getting it. Make him suffer._

Upon hearing the voice he still can't put a name or face to again, Gohan comes out of his fury, dropping a now unconscious Cell allowing him to float downward into the depths of Hell once more. … _I can't believe I let it happen again… I lost it… after all of that training._

_No you did good!_ The voice answers. _He suffered more than last time! If only you would have killed him again he wouldn't even exist anymore._

_SHUT UP! Who are you anyway? You sound so familiar. And how come I can't see you?_ Gohan doesn't like what's going on right now. He has no clue who this voice is and it already knows about the Cell games, not to mention it is encouraging him to repeat the things that he absolutely resents himself for.

_What? You don't recognize yourself? Ha ha you are even dumber than I thought._

_Wait what? Did he just say he was me?_

_Of course I'm you, well more like the saiyan side of you. I'm the reason you're so strong and the reason you love battle. You unleashed me when you ascended the first time._

Gohan has no clue what is going on right now. The saiyan side of him is _talking_ to him inside his head? _Well whatever you are, you're not welcome! This is _my _head! Stay out!_

_I wouldn't say that if I were you. Without me, you're nothing! I possess all of your power. Without me, all of your strength will disappear and you will be reduced to the level of Krillin!_

Gohan has no clue how to respond. As he is having this internal struggle, Goku finally knocks Frieza out clean, who like Gohan, just allows him to fall back to Hell.

_So long for now Gohan, but we will meet again._ The voice says coolly and then it fades away. Just like that, the voice is gone, leaving Gohan to mull over the events that just took place.

Gohan is extremely confused. _What was that all about? It's like that voice was my inner saiyan desires. It kept telling me to torture Cell… and I complied!_ Gohan now is very dejected, almost on the verge of tears. _I let it happen again! How could I? I thought I was able to control myself… wait… _Gohan looks at himself and feels his ki and realizes he's still a super saiyan 2. He's holding this state even though he's not extremely furious like he usually is. Upon this discovery, Gohan's spirits lift. _I did it! When that voice left, I returned to my normal self. So that voice must be my inner anger. I have to rid myself of that if I ever want full control. I know that won't be that last of him._

As Gohan is pondering his newest discovery, Goku looks around for his son. He spots him in a deep train of thought and realizes that he is still in his super saiyan 2 state. He then looks into his son's eyes and sees the normal gleam that Gohan usually carries and starts beaming. _He's done it! He's mastered his transformation! _"Gohan!" He yells towards his son.

Upon hearing his name, Gohan breaks his train of thought and looks around to find his father. As he sees him, a huge grin appears on his face and he waves enthusiastically to try and draw him over to where he is. Goku complies and flies over to his son.

"Well son, it looks like you can freely become a super saiyan 2 now." Goku praises his son. "Look at how easy you can hold it! I can't tell you how proud of you I am!"

Upon hearing his father's praise again, he becomes sad once more. His grin disappears and he throws himself at his father, sobbing. While indeed he can hold his transformation easily now and right now he isn't seething with rage, he can't say he has control of it. Not by a long shot. "Dad…" Gohan sobs, his face buried in his father's chest. "I became that monster again! I tortured him _worse_ this time! I don't deserve any praise. I deserve to be punished!"

Unlike last time, Goku didn't see his son's fight this time. He had no clue he lost it once again. He just saw him in his super saiyan 2 state after he finished his battle with Frieza. Goku makes a mental note to ask Gohan about it later, but once again, what the sobbing preteen needs at the moment is reassurance. "Gohan. We've had this discussion before during your training. I didn't know you were struggling again, but you _don't_ deserve to be punished. Once again, you found yourself before it got too far. You _do _have self-control."

"You don't understand dad." Gohan replies in between sobs. "I tried to control it. I was so confident I had it under control… but then I had this internal struggle and it kept telling me to make Cell suffer. I was fighting it until Cell mocked me and then I was blinded by rage and hate! I couldn't control myself and I gave in again!" at this he started sobbing harder. "I lost control! I deserve to be punished!"

At this last statement, Goku pries his son off his chest and holds him up at eye level. "GOHAN!" Goku shouts firmly at his son. The morose demi-sayian instantly stops crying at his father's tone. "Do not _ever_ say you deserve to be punished. That is _my _decision to make. _I'm _the father here, and I say that you did extremely well. I may not know exactly what it feels like because only you have the power to unleash this transformation, but I _do_ know that you will overcome whatever it is that you're struggling with internally. I know for a fact that you will. After all, you are the most loving and caring individual I know and I know that love _always_ wins over hate." Goku then lowers his voice and tells his son calmly, "Have faith in yourself son."

This seems to do the trick as Gohan replies with a small smile. "Okay dad…" He says, whipping away a stray tear. "I'll try."

"That's my boy." Goku responds. He gives his son a big hug and then lets him go. "Come on Gohan, Let's go home before your mom discovers we're gone. I was so caught up in the moment that I left without saying anything to her."

Knowing the consequences of such an action involve the use of a certain famous cooking utensil, Gohan readily complies and grabs on to his father, who then transports them both back to Mount Paoz.


	3. New Life

**A/N: Hey hey! I want to start by thanking everyone who has supported this story up to this point. It you guys that make this all worthwhile.**

**Well this has been a week to remember! I've honestly never had a more stressful week in my life! Not only did I have two exams on my two least favorite subjects along with two quizzes on 50 drug names (both brand names and generic) as well as their respective therapeutic classes, but I STILL haven't received any contact from the pharmacist that I'm working with starting next week when I've been trying to contact her for the last week and a half! Argh! I seriously believe that writing this story is the only thing keeping me sane at this point, but heads up for some pretty intense chapters down the road as I have been taking out some of my frustrations out on some of my characters.**

**Sorry about that rant, but I just need to get that off of my chest. Now, as I somewhat mentioned earlier, starting next week Monday, I'm going to be on my Pharmacy rotations for the next two weeks. I will be working 40 hours a week in a pharmacy setting in order to get experience in the field. What this means is I may post updates at more random times over the next two weeks, but I will still be posting twice a week. It really just depends on when I start and finish my workday. Just a heads up.**

**I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. Some things start getting revealed in this chapter so keep your eyes pealed. I hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it!**

**Now on to the story! Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z or any of it's characters.**

"dialogue"

_thoughts_

_"telepathic communication"_

~change in setting~

*action*

**flashback**

* * *

Chapter 2: New Life

~Mount Paoz, 439 Mountain District, Age 768~

Five months have passed since Goku and Gohan stopped the rebellion in Hell. In the past five months, things have turned out fairly normal, or at least as normal as things could be for two super saiyans. Fortunately Chichi never found out about her husband and son's trip to Other World so they never had to face the wrath of her frying pan of Armageddon.

The father and son came back to the living realm and told Piccolo of their 'experience.' Gohan didn't fail to mention his lapse in control; however, he did leave out the internal struggle with his saiyan side and that that is the reason he loses control of his ascended super saiyan state. He didn't want to cause any unnecessary worry, plus figured he would be able to deal with it on his own. Of course Piccolo could sense more from his mental link with his gakusei but he didn't press the matter, thinking that if it was something dire that he would say something.

A month ago brought about the New Year. The world (besides the Z-fighters) celebrated extra hard and once again honored Hercule Satan with generous gifts of money and even erected a gold statue of the man in downtown Satan City. This was because of the reasoning that they wouldn't have been able to live to see the New Year without Hercule's 'defeat' of Cell. Gohan watched this as him and the other Z-fighters were celebrating on their own, wondering if they would have done this for him if he had told the truth about the Cell Games. This thought is quickly wiped from his mind after seeing all of the attention Hercule is getting from all of the reporters and he realizes that he would not be able to handle all of the constant attention and constant probing into his personal life from the baka reporters.

Gohan also couldn't help but notice a girl that was standing next to Hercule as he was bragging about himself. She looked around his age and had long black hair tied into pigtails that hung on either side of her face. Like the man she stood by, she was dressed up in a deep sea blue dress that accentuated her amethyst eyes perfectly in Gohan's opinion, with matching heels. The girl appeared to be uncomfortable in these clothes and to Gohan she looked annoyed, although she wore a very convincing neutral expression on her face making it look like she was somewhat interested in what Hercule had to say to most others. This gave him the impression that this girl has practiced this expression and has been in this situation before. Even though she looks nothing like him, Gohan makes the conclusion that this girl must be related to the big oaf in some way if she is in the limelight enough make such a convincing makeshift expression. He didn't know the reason why she caught his attention, but he didn't think too much of it.

The Z-fighters were mildly paying attention to the TV as Hercule continued to talk about how Cell and the mystery fighters were all frauds. The Z-fighters could care less what the world thinks about them and have grown accustomed to the constant bashing. They figured that as long as Gohan and Goku allow the man to take credit that they will play along for now.

However, everyone except Gohan and Goku are starting to get a little restless about the situation and are starting to hate the man more and more. Taking credit for defeating Cell is one thing, but calling the ones actually responsible 'frauds' and 'tricksters' is another thing entirely. The gang is actually surprised that Gohan is as indifferent about it as he is. They aren't as surprised by Goku's indifference since he has always been carefree and happy-go-lucky. Gohan however is known for letting his emotions get the best of him and absolutely exploding on his target with mind boggling power.

Little do they know that Gohan has been getting more and more restless from Hercule. The fool of a man has been taking far to many jabs at his friends than his liking. However, the thing that gets him the most riled up is Hercule's comments about his father. The big oaf has been constantly hounding his father, calling him a 'fraud' and saying that he isn't a 'true fighter,' that he just won the budokai on pure luck.

This normally wouldn't be a big problem with the demi-saiyan, but the fact that everyone on the planet besides those who know better believe that big fake is absolutely asinine. Lately, Goku hasn't even been able to go anywhere without getting ridiculed by someone. Goku is obviously a very recognizable person, with his hairdo the way it is and that perpetual grin on his face. People will walk up to him and call him a fraud and a trickster, and this is what really grinds Gohan's gears. Whenever Gohan would try to defend him however, Goku would just tell him that it's not worth it and to just ignore it, and that's what he's been trying to do.

Lately though it's been getting harder and harder to ignore. Not only are Hercule's ridicules becoming much more often, but Gohan had been dealing with his own problems. He still feels absolutely horrible for what he did to Cell a few months back, and has drowned himself in more self-loathing. It has also become quite apparent to him that his saiyan side has been pushing and begging to get out again. Although he hasn't had an encounter with the voice again as of yet, his saiyan side is very much present, and with that comes the natural saiyan instinct to destroy anything that is a problem. Thankfully though, Gohan has been able to contain it so far.

There was one point in Hercule's interview however that caught everyone's attention. This was when the 'world champ' announced that he was sponsoring a martial arts tournament he called 'the Intergalactic Tournament.' Apparently, he's gathered aliens from across the galaxy that will be fighting. Gohan chuckled at the irony that there are already multiple _actual_ aliens living on earth right now. However, this tournament piqued the interest of the majority of the fighters so they continued to listen in to the details of the tourney.

"The tournament will take place in two months. It will be off of Yahoi Island on the edge of the world." the 'world champ' announced enthusiastically.

"Why so far away Hercule?" asked a reporter that had a very squeaky voice that made all of the Z-fighters with sensitive ears wince and cover their ears in pain.

"Well the fighters from other planets requested an isolated area as to stay out of the main cities." Hercule replied with a stupid grin. "They must be shy BWAHAHAHA!"

The Z-fighters all sighed in disgust and shook their heads at how incredibly moronic the self-proclaimed world savior is acting. Vegeta even let out a "Baka" before they all focused back on the TV.

"I see. Well Hercule," the reporter continued. "What will this tournament be like? How is it structured?"

"This is the best part!" Hercule exclaimed excitedly. "The tournament will be fought out on eight unique platforms over the water off the island! The competitors will be split into eight groups and then they will all fight at once in a battle royal! The last person standing from each platform will go on to the semifinals where they will draw from the eight remaining fighters and compose four individual matches. The four that make it through those matches will get to go to the finals where they will fight the intergalactic fighters for a chance to fight me in the end! BWAHAHAHA!"

"Wow sounds like quite the tournament Hercule! Is there any prize for winning the tournament?"

"Of course! What kind of a tournament doesn't have a prize for the winner? The winner of the tournament will get 10 million zeni! Of course they have to face me in the end so no one will likely be able to win the money but hey! I love me a challenge so I encourage all who think they have what it takes to defeat me to come. Just don't expect any miracles BWAHAHAHA!"

"The miracle will be if you don't get your face pounded in," Krillin said in his usual sarcastic tone.

"DID HE SAY 10 MILLION ZENI?!" Chichi screeched very loudly, making all of those with sensitive ears clap their hands on them in pain once again.

"Dammit Kakarot!" Vegeta shouted out of pure irritation. "Tell your harpy of a mate to stop yelling so loud!"

"…uh Chichi…" Goku stammered, still covering his ears.

"GOKU! You have _got_ to enter that tournament! That amount of money could put Gohan through college!" Chichi had stars in her eyes she was so ecstatic. She was also hysterical, partially because she was eight months pregnant and partially because she wants– no _needs_ the money so much. She just knows that if her husband enters he will win and the prize money will be theirs!

"Hehe relax Chi." Goku said slightly chuckling at his wife's antics. "I was already planning on entering."

"If Kakarot's entering, so am I" Vegeta added. His typical smirk is starting to appear on his face. "I still need to prove that I'm the superior saiyan! I _will _defeat you Kakarot!"

"Oh yeah?" Goku countered. He now had a playful smirk on his face. "Last time I checked I had a huge ki advantage."

"HA! You have no idea how much training I've been doing!" Vegeta said arrogantly. "While you've been spending all of your time trying to control your half-breed whelp with that green bean, _I_ have been doing nothing but serious training by myself at 450 times normal gravity."

While Vegeta and his father continue to debate who's stronger and while his mother goes on about college and grandchildren (Gohan has absolutely no clue how she got to the subject of grandchildren out of a tournament), he continues to watch the interview to see if there's any more info on the tournament.

"Well Hercule, do you have anything you would like to add?" The annoyingly squeaky voiced reporter inquired Hercule.

"Yes I would like to say one more thing." Hercule replies. Hercule then gets a cocky smirk on his face. "GOKU SON! I hope you are watching this!"

At the mention of Goku's name, everyone once again turns their attention to the TV wondering what Hercule wants to say about the world hero now.

"I challenge Goku Son to enter this tournament so I can prove what a fraud he really is! He only won the 23rd Budokai off of pure luck and light tricks. He's a cheater an embarrassment to martial arts!" Hercule then gets a look of hate on his face and starts shouting as if more to reassure himself than to scare Goku. "Do you hear that Goku? You cannot defeat me you son of a–" *BOOM*

The TV crashes into a wall as a huge gust of wind rocks the whole house. Now standing with golden spiky hair with teal eyes surrounded by a golden aura is Gohan, a look of pure rage on his face. The look on Gohan's face would make Vegeta's coldest glare look like a puppy pouting. His ki is already extremely high and it continues to increase as the stupid oaf's words about his father continue to ring through his ears.

"YOU HYPOCRITE!" Gohan shouted. He was on the verge of ascending to the second level. "_You're_ the one who's a fraud! _You're _the one who is taking credit for something you didn't do! _You're _the embarrassment to martial arts! Everything my dad does is _real_! He's a million times the man you will _ever _be! I can't believe I let _you_ take credit for Cell!"

Everyone was still stunned by the sudden outburst by the youngest Son. This was the first time that he's shown any resentment for allowing Hercule to take credit for Cell's defeat. Finally, Goku tries to snap his son out of his fury.

"GOHAN!" Goku yelled over the gusty winds that were starting to shake the walls of the house. Another minute of this and the house would blow up from the sheer energy. "CALM DOWN SON! Show him who the fraud is at the tournament. Enter and beat him _there_!"

Somehow, Goku's words reached the outraged demi-saiyan and his ki started to drop rapidly. His hair and eyes turned back to their natural onyx color and he collapsed out of pure exhaustion. Everyone let out a huge sigh in relief. Even Vegeta was scared for a minute there, although he would never admit it.

"Well I guess your lessons on control still haven't shown their fruit yet eh Kakarot?" Vegeta snidely said.

"Vegeta that's enough!" Bulma sharply declared. "One more comment like that and no GR for a week!"

_Grr. Damn that harpy! She always knows my weak spot!_ Vegeta growled in his head. "Hmph."

Still, Goku couldn't help but agree with Vegeta. It seemed that ever since his battle with Cell in Other World, Gohan seemed to be regressing with his control. Even though Goku knows full well that his son can make the jump to ascended super saiyan easily now, he still refuses to do it again. It's like he's afraid of it all over again like after he killed Cell the first time.

The most frustrating part about it to Goku though is that he has no clue _what_ Gohan is going through each time he makes the jump to the second level since he still has to reach it himself. He doesn't know what it feels like to be flooded with _that_ much fury and raw emotion to know how to deal with it. He really can't give all that helpful advice to his son since this is one of those things you have to actually experience to fully understand.

To be honest, Goku doesn't know if he even will be able to make the jump. Gohan had explained to him the differences between triggering the first super saiyan transformation and the next one. He doesn't know if he will _ever_ be angry enough to trigger it since he naturally is a very happy and carefree guy. His son is the same way most of the time, but he has his moments like a few minutes earlier where he completely loses it. Goku has only had that happen once, and it was only a fraction of the raw emotion needed to trigger the second transformation. He continued to ponder these thoughts as he picked up his unconscious son and carried him to his room.

* * *

Presently, Goku is training his son with Piccolo in one of their routine training sessions. As usual, both Goku and Piccolo are teaming up on Gohan and the lone demi-saiyan is struggling mightily to just put up a decent fight. He still refuses to go to the second level of super saiyan despite, for the lack of a better phase, getting his ass kicked.

"Come on kid!" Piccolo shouts at his gakusei, landing a solid hit to Gohan's solar plexus. "This is pathetic! You're just embarrassing yourself" Piccolo, like the last couple of weeks, is trying to force Gohan to transform by making him angry.

Like all of his previous attempts it's not working. He has a giant resolve to not give in and it will take a lot more than taunting and physical pain to make him cave. Gohan, gasping for air from Piccolo's hit barely dodges a fist to his right cheek from his father. _They don't understand. I _can't _go to the second level; if I do, that voice will come back._ Gohan's internal struggle from his latest bout with Cell still plagues his memory. He feels if the voice comes back he will give in since he has no clue how to fight it. Luckily he's been able to avoid the voice by not going to the next level so that's what he continues to do.

Goku however tries a different approach. "Gohan, you need to overcome your trepidation!" he advises his son. "What if you need that power again? How would you protect your baby brother?" Goku hits a nerve with that one, and he knows it. Every time Goku mentions the newest family member to Gohan he sees the sparkle in his eye. Out of everyone who is looking forward to the new baby, Gohan is by far the most excited. Goku knows his son would do anything to protect the delicate new life. There seems to be an extremely strong bond between the two of them, and the baby isn't even born yet!

The thing is, Gohan has always wanted a younger sibling. He wanted someone to play with; someone to teach; someone to share with. Most of all however, he wanted another person to protect, to give his life a bigger purpose. He promised himself that if he ever got a younger sibling that he would be the absolute best to them: he would be a perfect role model; he would give them love and care; he would even go as far to put his life on the line for them. He would do absolutely _anything_ for them. They would be his world.

So in this situation, Goku's words (as he guessed) have a great effect on Gohan. He realizes that in order to best protect his brother, he will need to bring out his _full_ potential. Gohan breaks away from the confrontation with his father and sensei and gets ready to brave out his greatest fear. _Dad's right. I need to get over this. _Gohan then balls his fists and makes the jump to super saiyan 2 within seconds. His hair stands straight up now except for one stubborn golden lock over his forehead. He gains another two inches in height as his muscles bulk up and his golden aura surrounds him brightly, sparks of blue electricity surrounding his form.

_Ah it feels so good to be out again! _The voice says in Gohan's mind.

_You will _not _control me this time! _Gohan retaliates. He was afraid the voice would come out again. _Just stay out of my way and you can stick around._

_And not have any fun? I think not! I need to fulfill my blood requirement. And since you haven't let me out in over five months, I'm gonna have to make up for it here!_

_Don't you _dare _try and take it out on my father and Piccolo. They are my family._

_Oh boo hoo! Who gives a damn?! Now if you excuse me, I have a blood lust to fulfill._

_NOOO!_

Gohan continues to fight the inner saiyan in his internal struggle. Unfortunately while this is going on, Piccolo and Goku, seeing that he is now ascended try and attack him and make him use his new power. This causes his defense mechanism to kick in and his instincts take over. Unfortunately, that is controlled by his saiyan side, making his fight more brutal.

_See? What kind of family attacks one of its own? _The voice says, trying to make Gohan cave. _And when you're not even paying attention too._

_We're _sparring! Gohan responds, getting very irritated at this point. _They are training me!_

_I don't know about that. Look at the malice in the green one's eyes. He's out for blood!_

_STOP TALKING ABOUT HIM LIKE THAT!_

_Are you sure you haven't done anything recently to make them resent you… like torture Cell?_

…

_Think about it. _The voice continues. _Your father has spent his whole life giving mercy to those who don't deserve it. Even though you gave Cell what he deserved, your dad probably resents you for that._

…_that's not true… _Gohan replies weakly, not sounding very confident. His self-assurance is starting to fade as doubt creeps into the young demi-saiyan's mind. _...he said he forgave me…_

_Ah but that's where you're wrong my friend. Just look at how he is attacking you right now. Look at that malice in his eyes._

…_I… I don't believe you! _Gohan denied, getting less sure by the minute. How could his father resent him? It can't be true! Sure, he tortured the green android, but his father said he forgave him.

However, the small seed of self-loathing that he planted after his battle is starting to grow at this point as he reconsiders the voice's words. Gohan feels like he still deserves to be punished after what he did to Cell both when he was alive and after he died. In his mind, he is starting to convince himself that his father truly does resent him, even if he won't say it.

_Hey say what you want, but I can tell in the way that he looks at you when you're not looking. He sees a failure when you were right in what you did to the sick android. Now let me give him what he deserves!_

This proves to be the final straw for Gohan. What the voice just declared just confirmed his suspicions of his father's silent resentment. At this point, Gohan finally gives in to the saiyan side in his mind, unable to bear the horrible fantasy that it's laying out for him. Gohan no longer has control of himself as he retreated into his mind, allowing his rage to control him. While this is going on inside Gohan, Piccolo and Goku continue their relentless assault of the young demi-saiyan. His saiyan side starts to retaliate the attacks being sent at him. Since he's a super saiyan 2, his power far exceeds that of Goku and Piccolo. He starts dealing incredibly powerful blows to the two powerful warriors, starting to slowly beat them relentlessly.

"GOKU!" Piccolo gasped, wincing at all of the blows he is getting. He is doing his best to dodge and block at the moment as Gohan continues his assault, but it is taking every ounce of strength just to keep up. "Gohan's lost it again! His eyes are ice cold, no mercy!"

"Ugh!" Goku exclaims, just taking a hard punch to the chest. "You're right…. How do we stop him?"

"I'm afraid he's too powerful Go–AH!" Piccolo was cut off by an extra hard roundhouse kick to the neck, knocking him unconscious.

_One down, one to go. _The voice proclaims happily.

_MR. PICCOLO! NO! Give me back my mind NOW!_

_Hahaha what after such a short time? You've got to be kidding me! I still have that father of ours to go after. My bloodlust has to be fulfilled!_ Gohan's sayian side commands his body to go after Goku now, starting to do to him what he did to Piccolo.

_DADDY! I don't care if he resents me, I will _not _let you hurt my father! Give me back my mind!_

_Wow, someone's a little angry. Alright… you win, I'll give, but be warned, I _will _be back. You'll be begging for me to be back soon. So long… for now. _The voice lets off a crazy cackle then just like last time the voice fades into nothingness.

At that moment, Goku see the innocence and glimmer in his son's eyes return, signaling that he regained control. He lets out a huge sigh as he senses no more killing intent that he was feeling from his son before.

Gohan loses his transformed state, returning to his normal onyx eyes and hair, with his normal build. He collapses on the ground sobbing. He is shaking uncontrollably out of pure fear.

Goku has never seen his son this terrified before, not even on Namek against Frieza when he was only the tender age of five. Whatever Gohan is going through must be horrifying beyond belief. Goku doesn't even know if he can comfort his son because once again, he has absolutely no clue what is going on with his son, and he doesn't like it. As much as he wants to comfort his son, he needs to know _everything _that's going on.

"Daddy…" Gohan chokes out between sobs. "I can't believe I let him… control me… again! Please don't resent me daddy please don't hate me!" Gohan continues to ball his eyes out like never before.

The truth is, Gohan is completely and utterly terrified of his saiyan side. It seems as though as soon as he goes to the ascended super saiyan he tries desperately to take control at _all_ costs. It's completely horrifying to him because the voice in his head knows his every thought and knows what buttons to push to make him cave. His arguments, while to anyone else might look ridiculous, are very convincing to Gohan. Now after his most recent experience, Gohan needs reassurance that his father and sensei don't resent him, especially since he did it again.

Goku sees the opportunity to comfort his son and takes it full stride. Perhaps he may even get some answers out of this as well. "Gohan, son…" Goku speaks softly while bringing his sobbing son into a warm embrace, allowing Gohan to cry on his chest. "I don't resent you. I love you. I can't even imagine even thinking about resenting you. What got that idea into your head?"

Gohan however continues to cry and deny his father's words. "But dad…" Gohan hiccupped. "I let him win again… I let him get in my head… plus your eyes… once he pointed them out–"

"Woah son. Easy there" Goku listens to his son, getting more confused after each chocked out partial sentence. "Who are you talking about?"

"The voice…" Gohan manages to choke out. "It says it's my… saiyan side… and it… only comes out… when I ascend… it's so scary! I'M NEVER GOING TO THE NEXT LEVEL EVER AGAIN!" Gohan cries even harder now, rocking back and forth in his father's arms.

Goku is dumbfounded. He had no idea that going to the next level had this big of an effect on his son. No wonder he continuously refused to ascend. He has no clue how to approach this situation. How do you fight a voice inside your own head? "First off Gohan, I don't, I repeat _do not _resent you. I could never do that. And Gohan," Goku sighs dejectedly. "I don't know how you can fight that voice inside you…" Goku then catches a glimpse of his former enemy turned friend unconscious on the ground. "But I bet you Piccolo can help. His strength has always been in the mental category. You need to tell him–"

"NO!" Gohan interjects his father. "If I tell him, he will resent me _for sure_! He'll take it as a sign of weakness!" Gohan then starts to plead. "Please keep this between us. PLEASE! I just won't transform anymore–"

"NO GOHAN!" It's Goku's turn to interject. "You're wrong. Piccolo cares about you as much as I do. He wouldn't resent you. Anyone else perhaps, but not _you_! You need to tell him! If you don't fight this as soon as possible, it might start to come to you in your first super saiyan form, maybe even in your base form. This doesn't sound like something that will go away that easily." Goku is just pulling at strings at this point. He has no clue if this will actually happen, but his son might believe him if he hears his dad say it.

Gohan starts to calm down a little as his father's words start to sink in. _He's right. Even though I know for a fact he only appears in the super saiyan 2 form, there may be a point where I will have no choice but to transform again. I need to fight this, but I don't know how. Maybe dad's right, Piccolo may have some answers._ "…okay…" Gohan said hesitantly. "I'll… I'll tell Piccolo."

Goku lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Words can't describe how relieved the older saiyan is. "That's my boy… now all we have to do is wait for him to get up."

Gohan looks at the ground in shame. "Yeah, I'm sorry." He says dejectedly. Suddenly, out of nowhere, He feels a spike in someone's ki. His head snaps in the direction of the ki. _That's coming from home. But that's not mom's ki… but it's not an enemy either. The ki is too pure. In fact, that ki is the warmest ki I've ever felt… wait! Could that be my baby brother? But he's not… born… y– _Gohan suddenly realizes what this means and his eyes widen in recognition and shock. He completely forgets about the voice for the time being. "DAD! Mom's going into labor!"

"How do know tha–"

"GOKU SON! GET OVER HERE THIS INSTANT!" a very loud and distinctly notorious screech echoed through the forest they were training in.

"Dad! We have to hurry!" he runs over to Piccolo picks him up, putting him over his right shoulder, and runs back to his dad. He makes sure Piccolo is secure on his shoulder and puts two fingers to his forehead with his free hand and instant transmissions to his home.

"Where did you learn that!?" Goku asks stunned and impressed as they appear back in their house.

"No time dad! We've got to get mom to Bulma!" the young demi-saiyan responds with much urgency. He runs to the living room and lays Piccolo on the couch. He then runs to his mother. "MOM! Grab on to me! I'll get us to Bulma's! Dad! Grab onto my other shoulder!"

Chichi and Goku both sense the urgency in their son's voice so they don't dare question him. They only comply. Gohan then uses instant transmission to teleport to Capsule Corps.

* * *

~Capsule Corporation Medical Ward, West City~

Bulma is working on her newest invention, the senzu potion, in her private lab in the medical ward (how convenient) when Gohan appears at her side out of thin air, escorted by a hysterical Chichi and a very nervous looking Goku.

"AH!" Bulma screamed in surprise, whacking Gohan over the head with a 1000 mL beaker. She then realizes who she hit. "Gohan! What are you doing? You scared the crap out of me–"

"NO TIME BULMA!" Exclaims an exasperated Gohan, the beaker not even fazing the demi-saiyan in the slightest. "Mom's in _labor_!"

"YOU BET I AM! Chichi wails, wincing at another contraction. "GOKU SON! I _swear_ I'm gonna _kill_ you when this is over!"

Goku just scratches the back of his head nervously, not knowing entirely what to do in this situation.

Bulma's eyes turn the size of dinner plates as soon as she processes the situation at hand. "Oh my Dende! I'll get one of my bots to fetch a wheelchair for you. We need to hurry and get you a room. Goku, while normally its customary to have the husband witness the birth, I still haven't forgotten when Gohan was born so I actually would recommend that you stay out here with him." she says with a slight chuckle.

"Ha ha yeah…" Goku trails off. "Once you brought out those needles I had no choice but to book it."

Gohan shakes his head and blushes in embarrassment of his father's phobia. "Honestly dad you can stand up against the most ruthless of foes but when a needle comes your way, you cower like a five year old girl."

Goku was about to respond to his son when Chichi let out a bloodcurdling scream of pain. "BULMA! LET'S GET GOING! I NEED SOME MORPHINE OR SOMETHING!"

Bulma sweat drops at Chichi's statement and hurriedly has the medical bot wheel Chichi to a free room, following behind nervously. She also remembers Chichi's insufferable temper from her last birth as well and she knows that it's going to be a long day.

When the women leave the room, Goku finally asks Gohan something that's been bugging him since this while scenario started. "So Gohan, how did you learn instant transmission? You know your mom didn't want me to teach you until you were older." Goku then waits back patently for his son to answer, a look of anticipation on his face.

Gohan actually had asked his father if he could learn instant transmission about two months earlier, just before the New Year. Goku had responded with that answer that Gohan would have to be a little older to learn it. For one, the strain of the technique on a younger body could prove to be great so it would be rather difficult and uncomfortable for a younger person. The second reason was almost forced upon Goku by Chichi. She had demanded that Goku not teach the technique to their son at all since it would be even easier to escape from his studies. Of course Goku also pleaded his case that it would be very helpful in the future so she made a compromise to teach Gohan it once he turns eighteen.

Gohan looks down at the floor, not entirely paying attention to his father. After getting over the initial shock of his mother's labor, Gohan has been left with his own thoughts. After a minute or so, Gohan finally looks up at his father and tells him with a small smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes: "I picked it up after watching you do it a bunch of times." He then returns his gaze to the floor.

Goku is dumbfounded. How could his son pick up such an advanced technique by just _watching_ him? He beams at his son. "Gohan, that's _incredible_! It took me six months to master that technique on Yardrat _with_ training along with a master of the technique! I'm impressed."

Gohan looks up at his father again, a bigger smile in his face. "Yeah I was surprised too. I just tried it once to test out a theory and it worked. I was so determined to learn it after you told me I couldn't…" his face falls once again as he trails off.

Goku, finally noticing his son's crestfallen attitude starts to get concerned. "Hey Gohan. Why were you so insistent on learning the IT even after your mom said you couldn't until you were older? You usually _never_ disobey your mom and I have a feeling that this goes deeper than just wanting to be able to escape your studying more easily." He says it gently, yet there is an authoritative tone to the question that tells his son to answer honestly. Goku knows that this sullen mood of his son's has something to do with the reasoning behind learning the technique.

Normally Gohan would have laughed at his father's last statement, but the seriousness of the question refrained him from doing so. He sighs. "I just wanted to be able to protect my little brother. I want to be able to be at his side the instant he's in any sort of danger. I just… I just want to be there for him." He looks his father in the eyes with his last statement.

Goku is baffled (seems to be happening a lot in that last couple of minutes). He had no idea that his son cared for his unborn brother this much. Sure, he knew that Gohan was absolutely thrilled to be getting a new brother to play with, but he never knew he cared this deeply already. He was willing to disobey his mother's orders (which is quite a statement considering the dire consequences of such an action) to learn a technique that was no small feat to master, especially by just observation alone. If his connection with his brother is this strong already, how much stronger will it get when he's older? Right now though, Goku is once again beaming with pride. He really raised the most caring and loving individual ever to walk the Earth. "Gohan, you have no idea how proud that makes me to hear that."

Gohan looks back down at the floor, a slight blush appearing on his cheeks from his father's praise. "Thanks dad…" his attitude suddenly drops again. "I'm just worried that I might fail. What if I still can't protect him? What if I mess up and hurt him?"

Goku had a feeling where this was going, so he stops it before it could escalate. "Gohan, you can't let stuff like that worry you." He says it in a reassuring tone, looking his son in the eyes. "Whatever happens, happens. And if you are referring to what happened earlier when you ascended, just stop right there. We discussed this. We're going to get help Gohan. We'll make sure that _never _happens again."

Gohan looks at his dad, not the least bit reassured by his words. Just when he was about to voice his concerns however, a very exhausted Bulma walks into the room with a tired smile on her face. She looks at the two male Sons, completely unaware of what they were discussing, and says happily "Goku, would you like to meet your newest son?"

Goku tosses his eldest son a worried glance before giving Bulma the infamous Son grin. He definitely will have to come back to this conversation with his son later, but right now, meeting the newest Son is of greater importance to him. "Yes! I'm so excited! How's Chichi?"

"She's exhausted, but other than that she's perfectly fine. I think the sight of her son made her forget about her threat to kill you," Bulma says jokingly.

Both Sons laugh at that statement. "Good to hear I won't be kicking the bucket anytime soon ha ha!" Goku chuckles. After the new round of laughter dies down, Goku continues, "You lead the way Bulma."

"I'll come get you when it's time Gohan." Bulma tells her godson. "I'm just trying to introduce your new brother to one new face at a time as it could be overwhelming for him to introduce him to many people at a time." After receiving a nod from Gohan, she scurries down the hallway to the patient rooms. Goku briskly follows after his oldest friend, giving his now eldest son a reassuring smile on his way out.

Gohan gazes at the receding bodies of his father and godmother. His gaze then returns to the floor, his mind returning to his previous thoughts. _I'm so terrified. I just know that I will end up hurting my brother. Dad doesn't understand what it's like with that voice in my head. I just don't know if I can allow myself to get close to him. I vowed to protect him at _all costs_! If that means protecting him from me than so be it! There is no way I will let _anything _hurt him. I will die before that happens._

* * *

~Chichi's Room, Capsule Corporation Medical Ward~

A very exhausted Chichi is lying in her hospital bed holding a small bundle in her arms. She is smiling adoringly at the little boy that she gave life to not twenty minutes ago. She looks like she had just gotten done with an intense workout, although giving birth to a demi-saiyan could very well be considered that. She lifts her eyes off the bundle when she hears a knock on her door and spots her best friend sporting her husband and smiles at her husband's childlike look of awe. "Goku come meet your new son!"

Goku walks over to Chichi's bedside, setting his sights on the tiny person in the blue blanket and his eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. He was looking at an exact replica of himself in baby form. He was sleeping peacefully at the moment, but he could tell that he had all of his facial features as well as the same wild, unruly hairdo. "He's… me!" Goku finally whispers.

Chichi giggles at Goku's description. Oh how true that was! "Just wait until you see his eyes," She whispers back, trying not to disturb the new life in her arms. "He has the same innocent look in his eyes that you have."

"I think I'll leave you two alone and go and get Gohan," Bulma quietly interrupts. She then gives the couple holding their new family member a smile before heading out, shutting the door silently.

"Goku, why don't you hold him?" Chichi asks her husband, handing the bundle that is their new son to him. Goku receives the child and cradles him in his arms.

The baby boy stirs in Goku's arms, his eyes slowly fluttering open at the exchange in order to meet the gaze of the person that now claimed him. He looks up curiously with shining onyx eyes only to be met with the same onyx eyes looking down at him with the same curiosity as well as a giant grin. The baby immediately cuddles against Goku's chest and closes his eyes, letting sleep take him once again. It seems he feels secure in his father's arms and comfortable in his presence. Goku also takes note of the look of contentment on the baby's face while he sleeps, causing Goku's grin to widen if that's possible.

"He likes you honey," Chichi quietly says to her husband, a note of joy in her voice. "Of course everyone does so it's no surprise. What do you think we should name him?"

Goku ponders the thought. He for the life of him could not come up with a decent name for the kid. "Gee honey I don't know." He says sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. He looks down at the child sleeping peacefully in his arms. _He looks just like me._ He thought. _Wait… that's it!_ "Chichi," Goku says excitedly, a little too loudly but doesn't wake the child. It seems like he's a heavy sleeper, much to the relief of Goku. "He looks so much like me. What about my saiyan name, Kakarot?"

Chichi was hesitant. "Well Goku" she starts. "In all honesty I never liked that name. I don't know it just doesn't fit. It makes you sound more like the ruthless killer you were supposed to be, at least that's what I associate it with."

Goku sighs, "Well I don't want to name him Goku Jr. That would just cause a lot of confusion, plus I want him to have his own legacy." He thinks out loud. "I'm not sure Chi. You have any?"

Chichi mulls over some names in her head, but can't think of a decent one for her newest son. Eventually she sighs as well. "I don't know what to name him," she expresses dejectedly. "Maybe we could ask Gohan if he has any ideas."

"Yeah, he might have one in mind already," Goku agrees, knowing the strong bond that has formed between his two sons already. "Knowing Gohan, it's probably the perfect name too." He smiles at the thought, looking down at his sleeping child, still cuddled up protectively in his father's arms.

Suddenly, the infant's eyes shoot open, not at all slowly. He turns his tiny head towards the closed door of the room and stretches his arms towards it, whimpering slightly. Goku and Chichi are taken aback by this sudden change in behavior from their infant son.

"Hey there," Goku coos. "What's the matter bud? Something wrong?"

Right on cue, there's a knock on the door and it opens, slowly revealing Bulma and a very nervous looking Gohan. Upon seeing his older brother, the baby intensifies the whimpers and stretches out his chubby little arms towards the eldest demi-saiyan. Goku chuckles and addresses his oldest son. "Gohan, it looks like he _really_ wants you to hold him."

Gohan was shocked to say the least. This whole time he was afraid that his brother would be scared of him and would cower away from him. Of course he didn't _want_ those feeling to come true. No, he already loves his brother more than anything, but he didn't expect _this_ reaction from him. Eying his little brother, he drops his nervous composure and walks over to his father to take his little brother, grinning madly. He takes him and holds him close. The infant immediately snuggles into Gohan's chest, looking up at him with a large smile on his face as well. Gohan bends his head down and rubs his cheek against the baby's head affectionately, causing a giggle from the tiny Son.

_Wow. _Gohan thinks. _He's so precious. Looks exactly like dad too. Don't worry little brother, I will _always _protect you._ He then leans down again and plants a gentle kiss on his brother's forehead and smiles down at him. _And to think I was about to run away and leave you. Not a chance! I will fight that voice inside my head with everything I've got and will _never _give in as long as you're around._

Chichi lets out tears of joy at how well her two are sons are getting along already. It seems like Gohan really loves his brother with all of his heart. Goku just smiles at the moment. He _knew_ that this sort of thing would happen. The way Gohan talked about the prospect of being an older brother told him everything he needed to know and he had a feeling that the infant picked up on that while still inside the womb.

Still though, Goku's surprised at the little tyke's initial reaction to Gohan. He woke up instantly and yearned for him when he wasn't even present in the room yet, like he could sense him. This is unheard of, especially for newborns as normally babies don't even believe an object exists unless they can see it in front of them. Even if it's there and then hidden, they normally don't have the thought process that tells them that the object exists even though it's still there, just hidden. This is why peek-a-boo is such an entertaining game to them. But it seems that his youngest son can sense Gohan, even when he's not visible.

After Chichi's crying dies down, Goku inquires his son an all important question. "Say son, since you seem to be the baby's favorite, do you have a name for him? Your mother and I couldn't come up with any good ones."

Gohan is startled by the question. He didn't think that _he _would be able to name the child. He ponders the thought very carefully. _He's so precious. He's like a gift from heaven… that's it!_ "Mom… dad… I think we should name him Goten." The baby giggles relentlessly upon hearing the name his brother chose for him, snuggling closer if that's possible.

Both parents chuckle at the baby's reaction. "You know Gohan, that's exactly how you reacted when you heard the name Gohan the first time," Chichi cries. "I think you've found your name. How'd you come up with it? Your father and I have been thinking of names nonstop until you came in."

"Well mom," Gohan answered. "I was thinking that this little guy," Gohan rubs his head against the infant saiyan's once more, causing yet another giggle. "was a gift from heaven, so I incorporated that into the name. I also wanted to follow the Go- pattern so that you can tell who his family is."

"Wow I can't believe I've never thought of that!" exclaims Chichi, slapping her forehead. "It was so obvious the entire time!"

Goku and Gohan both sweat drop. Goku chuckles nervously. "Well whatever. I love the name. Goten it is!"

Gohan continues to hold Goten in his arms as the youngest demi-saiyan eventually lets sleep take him once again, falling asleep in his brother's warm embrace.

As soon as Goten once again falls asleep, Gohan and Goku both notice two very strong ki signatures, and one extremely strong one. Although they are strong, there is no sense of malice among them.

"Dad, do you feel that?" Gohan asks his father in a whisper. Not only had Goten fallen asleep, but Chichi had just fallen into slumber as well.

"Yes son," Goku responds quietly, a smile on his face. "All three feel very familiar. I guess he brought some visitors this time."


	4. Freeing The Future

**A/N: Hey hey! It's pretty short notice, but I was just informed that I will be working really early to really late tomorrow at work, so instead of making everyone wait, I decided to put it out now instead. I will probably end up posting the next chapter on Thursday evening as well. Next week though it will be back to normal. Just a heads up. **

**On to the chapter. Some new characters are revealed in this chapter. I really enjoyed writing this so I hope you guys like it as much as I did!**

**Please let me know of there are any big concerns with this chapter. I encourage anyone who has any questions with the story to either comment or PM me and I will explain to the best of my ability within a decent amount of time. Now on with the story! **

**Note: This chapter takes place in the Mirai Timeline (look at the date in the setting).**

"dialogue"

_thoughts_

_"telepathic communication"_

~change in setting~

*action*

**flashback**

* * *

Chapter 3: Freeing the Future

~Bulma's Private Laboratory, Capsule Corporation, West City, Age 785~

Bulma Briefs is working on rebuilding her private laboratory that was almost completely destroyed by the androids' latest 'game.' They destroyed over two-thirds of the glassware, emptying out various chemicals on the floor that could be deadly in certain combinations as well as every lab bench and computer except half of a lab bench. Two of the walls have holes in them from where each android entered separately. Fortunately however, the part of the lab that held the landing pad for the time machine as well as the charger were left intact.

Bulma has managed to rebuild both walls as well as take care of all of the chemicals. She is currently rebuilding one of the lab benches when she hears a very loud, but familiar humming noise. Immediately she drops what she is doing and dashes towards the time machine landing pad.

She is met with the sight of a spaceship looking vehicle. It's has an egg-shaped, yellow metal frame with large black rectangle panels lining its outside as well as two rocket boosters on opposite sides and one on the bottom. It has a polyurethane dome top to it that looks to be retractable and is supported by four yellow legs. The size looks like it could only fit one adult inside. The dome suddenly opens up with a hiss and out jumps a grinning teenager no older than nineteen years of age. He has lavender hair in a bowl cut and deep blue eyes, wearing a black tank top with a blue Capsule Corporation jacket and black baggy pants. "Hi mom! I'm home!" the man says excitedly.

"TRUNKS!" Bulma cries, leaping over to her son and sobbing against his chest. She was insanely worried about her son's trip to the past. He had only been gone two days in this timeline but so much has happened in those two days that she was thinking that she might never see her son ever again.

"It's okay mom, I'm here." Trunks consoles his mother soothingly. As his mom continues to sob in his chest, the teenage demi-saiyan looks around the lab and surveys the scene. While it looks like his mother has been cleaning and rebuilding, he can tell that something terrible happened here. He can clearly see the rough patches in two of the walls and can see that the chemical shelves are almost completely empty. He also notices that half of the lab benches are missing and that there isn't a single computer present in the room, which surprises him the most. Usually the lab is filled with computers monitoring the various tracking methods they were able to use on the androids. Clearly they attacked here. That would explain the damage to the lab as well as his mom's hysterics after only two days of absence. She knows that it takes almost a whole day to warp from one timeline to another so she usually doesn't worry too much unless he's gone for a week or more. _Oh those androids are going to pay!_ Trunks mentally promises.

After another good ten minutes, Bulma finally calms down, although a few tears still trickle out of her eyes every so often. "So was your trip a success?" Bulma asks of her only son.

Trunks grins and gives his mom a thumbs up. "Yes, very much so!" Trunks answers very enthusiastically. "Let's move to the living quarters and I'll tell you all about it." With that he puts his arm around his mother's shoulder and walks out of the half-destroyed lab.

* * *

~Capsule Corporation Living Quarters~

"UNCLE TRUNKS!" cries a young voice. In almost an instant a blue blur crosses the room and tackles Trunks to the ground.

Trunks catches his breath from the sudden fall and greats the giggling chibi sitting on his chest. "Hey Goken" Trunks manages to huff out, ruffling the chibi's unruly black hair. The boy looks no more than five years old and looks like a carbon copy of the infamous Goku. He has the same hairdo with four big spikes of black hair to one side and three smaller spikes to the other side; he has the same charcoal eyes that shine with the innocence of youth. The most noticeable similarity between the two of them though is the notoriously contagious grin that only a Son could sport. He is however wearing a dark blue gi with an orange long sleeved undershirt and orange sash. There is a small kanji for rice on the front on the left side of the chest with a small white circle in the background and the same kanji but bigger in the middle of the back, a bigger white circle in the background. "Where's your sister?"

"I'm right here Uncle Trunks!" shouts another soprano voice, this one belonging to a young girl no more than eight years in age. While Goken could be considered a clone of Goku, this chibi could be considered a Chichi clone. She has the same facial features of the infamous Son matron as well at those big onyx eyes; the chibi also has long black hair that goes down to her shoulders. She is dressed in the same gi as her little brother. She giggles at the younger chibi's antics. "Goken, why don't you get off of Uncle Trunks so he can breathe."

The chibi reluctantly gets off the trampled demi-saiyan and rubs the back of his head with a grin, allowing Trunks to stand up only to be tackled once again, this time by the other chibi. "PAN!" Trunks yells at the new giggling chibi on top of him. Goken laughs at his sister's trick.

"What Uncle Trunks?" the little girl asks, putting on her best innocent face. She then grins in the famous Son fashion. "You didn't think I would let you get away without a hug now would you? So tell us, did it work? Did you save grandpa?" Pan inquires insistently.

"Well if you would get off of me I will tell you guys." Trunks manages to choke out. Pan immediately leaps off of her sensei and good friend, helping him up in the process. She then repeats the gesture of her brother rubbing the back of her head and muttering an apology to Trunks. "Wow you two are getting strong!" Trunks praises the two chibis. "Anyways yes it worked, Goku survived although his virus hit a lot later than in this timeline. I was about to tell my mom all about it. You guys can join us if you would like."

The chibis nod enthusiastically and race to the large sofa against the back wall of the living room, waiting eagerly for Trunks and Bulma to get over there. Chuckling at the antics of the two children, and not wanting to keep them waiting any longer, makes his way with his mom to the adjacent couch ready to tell the tale of his trip. "You guys ready?" Trunks teases.

"Yes!" Both chibis reply simultaneously, impatience clear in their voices.

"Okay here it goes." Trunks finally starts retelling the story of his visit. "You remember that last time I went back a week ago I gave your grandfather the medicine against the heart virus? Well when I went back two days ago, three years had passed in that timeline. I came back to find that the androids aren't even the same. I found the head of a clown looking android on the battlefield, just abandoned. Obviously my first trip to the past somehow affected that timeline."

"But that's not all that changed." Trunks adds, causing the chibis to lean forward in anticipation. "The timing of your grandpa's heart virus changed as well. He was sick at the time I appeared in that timeline. Thankfully Yamcha took him to his house to get the cure. Apparently he had been fighting the weird android while suffering with it. Talk about toughness and persistence."

"But anyways," Trunks continues. "Apparently Dr. Gero was still alive in that timeline and didn't activate the androids that we know." Bulma's eyes widened at this. "We tried to get to his lab first to destroy them before they were activated… but it was too late. By the time we got there, the androids were activated and they had already killed Dr. Gero." There was a pause at this point where Trunks reflected on how weak and helpless he felt at that point. It must have shown on his face as Pan and Goken had moved over to sit on each of Trunks' legs in an attempt to cheer him up.

"What happened next?" Pan asks innocently, anticipation in her voice. Even though she's only eight years old, Pan is smart for her age, and she is very skilled at reading the emotions of others, especially those close to her. She doesn't want Trunks to dwell on the bad memories and thus attempts to change the subject.

Trunks pulls both chibis close to him, one in each arm as they both continue to sit in his lap. "Well Pan, surprisingly the androids left us alone after they took out Dr. Gero." All three of the listeners gape at that statement. The androids that _they_ know would _never _let them be. Heck, the androids of this timeline attack people as a _game_! Trunks continues to tell them about how Vegeta went off to battle the androids on his own and how he got crushed, but he also mentions that the androids didn't try to kill him or the others. To Bulma and the chibis, this also comes as a great shock, but a relief nonetheless.

Finally, Goken asks a question. "Uncle Trunks," He says this somewhat hesitantly. "If the androids weren't bad in that timeline, why did you spend over a year there? Was there something else?" The little boy of only five looks up at the teenager holding him, concerned and the look in his eyes pleads for an answer.

"You know, you remind me a lot of your father with those observation skills." Trunks responds to the five year old, a little taken aback by his question. For a brief moment, Trunks reminisces about his sensei, remembering how observant of everything he used to be. He would be able to point out things in his fighting that no one would ever look for. He even could tell if the minutest details were off when he would help his mother school him. Getting back to answering Goken's question, Trunks says, "You're right Goken. Something else came up. Another android to that we never knew about to be exact."

"Another android?!" Bulma blurts out, her voice sounding more like a shriek, causing the three others present to wince and cover their ears. "How many androids did that wacko Dr. Gero make?"

"Kami mom not so loud!" Trunks demands, still clutching his ears. "I was just getting to that." Trunks proceeds to tell them about Android Sixteen and Cell, describing how Cell was created by the cells of all of the great fighters of the galaxy including all of the Z-fighters and Frieza. He then goes on to tell them how Cell killed millions of people by absorbing their ki as well as Cell's main purpose.

"He wanted to become 'perfect.' In order to accomplish that though, he had to absorb Androids Seventeen and Eighteen."

"I see your problem." Bulma states. "You had to either get rid of Cell or the androids before he absorbed them."

"Exactly," Trunks responds. "Except at that point both the androids _and_ Cell were out of our league. We had to get some serious training done in order to have a chance. So we used the Hyperbolic Time Chamber."

"OOOH!" Pan squeals excitedly. She is bouncing up and down on Trunks' leg. "I've read about that place in daddy's notes you gave me! It's supposed to exist in another time dimension where one day outside equals a year inside. Is that why you look older?"

Trunks chuckles at the girl's antics, also impressed that she knew exactly what he is talking about. "Yes you are absolutely right Pan." He looks at the two chibis in his lap and gives them a sad smile. "You both remind me so much of your father it's crazy." He sighs and the smile fades into a small frown "Kami I miss him. I really wish you could remember him Pan, and I wish you could have met him Goken. You both would love him…" A small tear manages to escape the confines of Trunks' eye. He remembers the last time he saw his sensei. How he went off to fend off the androids from his family. Trunks was training with him at the time when Gohan's wife contacted him through their bond and told him about the attack. Trunks wanted to help, but Gohan had knocked him out when his back was turned. The last thing Trunks remembers about that day was his sensei's words: "_Sorry I had to do that to you Trunks, but you're too precious. You may be the Earth's last hope. Train and grow strong. Please look out for Pan for me. Bye… otouto…"_ Trunks then remembers finding a crying Pan next to her father's dead body, him having been knocked out at the time his senei died being completely useless in the battle...

Trunks is brought out of his heartbreaking memories by two pairs of arms wrapping around his torso. The double hug by the chibis brings a small smile back to his face. "Don't worry Uncle Trunks, you still have us." Pan reminds Trunks with the innocence that only an eight year old could have.

Trunks pulls both chibis close to him and returns the hug. He forces back tears as he puts on a bigger smile. "Thank you guys… you have no idea how much I needed that…" Trunks chokes out. He takes another moment to calm himself and then continues his story. He tells them about how he went in the chamber with Vegeta and got much stronger. He tells them how both he and Vegeta were strong enough to outclass Cell by far, even when he absorbed Android Seventeen. Trunks scowls as he retells how Vegeta _let_ Cell absorb Android Eighteen just so he would have more of a challenge.

"That sure sounds like Vegeta." Bulma says, putting a palm to her face and shaking her head in disgust. "He always was a megalomaniac in my opinion."

"What's a meglomannyak?" Goken asks with his confused face.

"It's megalomaniac Goken, and it means a really cocky person right Uncle Trunks?" Pan answers, peering up at Trunks for confirmation.

Trunks chuckles. He should have figured that Gohan's daughter would already be learning words like megalomaniac at age eight. "Well you're on the right track. A megalomaniac basically is someone who thinks they're the best and puts themselves above everyone else. They think that _nothing _is better than them." Trunks then looks back at his mother. "You're right, that actually fits dad pretty well. He thought that no matter what Cell did that he would still be better. How wrong he was. Cell's 'perfect' form was powerful beyond belief. No one had a chance, not even Goku…" Trunks looks down at the wide eyed chibis in his lap and couldn't help the smile that found its way on his face. "Hey guys, do you want to hear about how your dad saved the world?"

Both chibis grin and nod enthusiastically while Bulma shoots Trunks an incredulous look. "_Gohan _beat Cell?! He must have not even been eleven years old at that time?!" She couldn't believe it. She knew Gohan was strong for his age, but the way Trunks was describing Cell, not even _Goku _stood a chance.

"I know mom," Trunks replies. "Everyone else reacted the same way when it was happening. Here's what happened." Trunks proceeds to tell everyone about how Cell had a tournament to decide Earth's fate. He goes on to talk about how Goku fought Cell first and gave it his all, still not being able to beat Cell. Then Trunks retells them how Goku actually gave up in favor of his son to fight.

"Piccolo I think was the one who protested the most. Goku was so confident in him though that he gave Gohan confidence in himself, so Gohan went out there and fought Cell. He powered up and his ki put Goku's and everyone else's to shame. It really was unreal!" Trunks once again looks down to see the reactions of the chibis and sees a bit of pride in their eyes. He smiles at that. Trunks could remember how proud he was of his sensei's younger self when all of this was happening. "Even then though, Cell let out some of his true power and Gohan got thrown around like everyone else. That was until he told Cell his secret."

Trunks tells his mom and the chibis about how Gohan told Cell about his hidden powers; about how whenever he gets extremely angry that he just loses it and his power overtakes him. He then tells them about how Cell tried to draw out this power by beating all of the Z-fighters to a bloody pulp. Bulma and the chibis gasp at that part. They couldn't even begin to imagine what Gohan was witnessing.

"Despite all of this, to Gohan's credit, he didn't give in. He always told me about his experiences with this power when I was training with him and it sounded like he was out of control when this happened to him. He told me he didn't have any conscious memories of what happened when this happens. He always told me that he never wanted it to happen again. I think he was afraid of the damage that he could do with that kind of power, and I think that's what was going through his head during his fight. Despite everyone's suffering, he still was afraid that he would do more damage than good."

"But remember when I told you that Android Sixteen was a crucial part of Cell's defeat?" Trunks inquires his audience, who is now intently listening. They all slowly nod in response. Trunks continues, "Well Android Sixteen was blown up by Cell earlier in Gohan's fight but somehow, his head got thrown into the middle of the battlefield. Apparently the head was still functional and it started talking to Gohan. I'm not sure what he said, but it was really affecting Gohan. Then Cell butts in and crushes Android Sixteen's head right in front of Gohan." This elicited more gasps from his audience. "After that, Gohan completely snapped. He released so much power that he triggered _another_ super saiyan transformation."

"After he transformed again, Cell was done for. Gohan's ki was through the roof. Compared to Gohan's ki, Cell's was nothing but an insect compared to a T-rex. He proceeded to pummel Cell and eventually killed him once and for all." Trunks deliberately leaves out the part about Gohan losing control of himself and torturing Cell to no end as well as the part about threatening his father. He doesn't think the chibis need to know that part.

"Uncle Trunks, what's wrong?" Goken asks innocently, concern lacing his voice. "You look sad for some reason. Did something else happen to my daddy?"

Damn those chibis and their observation skills! Trunks thought he was hiding his emotions pretty well too. "I can't hide anything from you can I?" Trunks mumbles, half-chuckling. "Oh well I guess I'll tell you. You deserve to know." Trunks pauses to gather his thoughts. "Well when your dad transformed again, like I said something inside of him snapped. He lost all of his compassion and mercy that he was known for and was only left with fury and revenge…" Trunks pauses again. This is so hard to relive. "He lost himself and started torturing Cell. He kept on pummeling him until he was hanging on by a mere thread. Yet… he kept him alive… just so he could suffer more…" Trunks fights back tears at this point. "I never knew an eleven year old boy could be so cruel. Those were the scariest few moments of my life. My sensei… my oniisan… was torturing someone… I wouldn't even put the androids through what he put Cell though... and that's not even all!"

Trunks lets a few tears escape now, but is determined to finish retelling the story. "When Goku was trying to get Gohan to stop, he not only refused, but he _threatened_ his own father! When he looked at us, daring us to stop him, the look in his eyes… was the scariest thing I've ever seen…" Trunks finally can't contain his tears any longer as he starts crying. The chibis are wide eyed, but Bulma is hysterical. She couldn't believe that such a sweet, innocent child such as Gohan would be able to do anything of the sort.

Trunks cries a little longer until he can calm himself. The chibis are still shocked. They've never seen Uncle Trunks cry! He's the toughest person ever! This must have been seriously horrifying. They try their best to help by giving him another hug but even this doesn't quell the tears for another few minutes.

Trunks is beside himself. He hasn't had an emotional breakdown like this since Gohan died five years ago. Even the chibis aren't helping this time. Reliving the fear that his sensei and best friend might have become just as bad, if not _worse_ than Cell is too much for him to contain. Only after he remembers that Gohan had come back to his old self can he finally control himself.

After he finally calms down, Trunks continues his tale. "As bad as those moments were though, I still can be proud of your father since in the end, he caught himself and became the loving Gohan we all knew. Cell, despite all of that torture was still conscious and was planning on self-destructing in order to blow up the planet. Since Gohan was back to his normal self and was plenty powerful enough to destroy Cell at this point, he noticed this before Cell could gather enough ki and blasted him away with a giant Kamehameha wave."

"Wowee!" Goken shouts, obviously very entertained by the way his father destroyed Cell. "That's so cool!"

Trunks chuckles at how excited the chibi is. "Yes it was quite the sight." He says in response. "Your father was so exhausted after everything though that he passed out as soon as he knew the battle was won. We had to take him to the lookout to get him healed. Since Piccolo had fused with Kami in prepar–"

"Hold on!" Bulma interrupts, now sporting a very surprised expression. "Piccolo fused with Kami?! I know those two used to be one being, but they both hated each other with a passion!"

"That's the way everyone else reacted too!" Trunks answers, amused at how similar his mother's reaction is to everyone else's. "But it happened. Anyways where was I?"

"You said you had to go to the look out to heal daddy!" Pan answers, wanting to hear the rest of Trunks' tale.

"Oh yeah! Thanks Pan," Trunks replies, now remembering what he was going to say. "Well after Piccolo and Kami fused to prepare for Cell, the dragonballs became inert since they were connected through Kami. Since we knew we needed to revive all of those that Cell killed though, we needed a new Guardian, so Goku used instant transmission to get another Namekian to be Guardian. I think you actually know this Namekian mom."

Bulma thinks it over. She knew most of the Namekians since they stayed at Capsule Corps. for almost a year while looking for a new planet to live on, but she can only think of one that would want to become Earth's Guardian, and after coming to this realization, her eyes widen, causing the chibi's to look at her in confusion and her son in amusement. "DENDE?!" She finally blurts out. "You've got to be kidding me Trunks he was only a kid at that time!"

Trunks chuckles at his mom's reaction. "Yep he was, but then again so was Gohan." At that statement, Bulma nods in understanding, but is still shocked nonetheless. "Anyways," the demi-saiyan continues, "He was brought to Earth by Goku and he actually did it! He created another set of dragonballs!"

"Trunks what does any of this have to do with daddy getting healed at the lookout?!" Goken asks, impatience clear in his five year old voice.

"Hold on Goken, I'm getting there," Trunks calmly answers, making the five year old pout cutely. "Well Dende, the new Guardian, he has healing powers. So we brought your father to the lookout so Dende could heal him. After that, we summoned Shenron to revive all of those that were killed by Cell an–"

"We interrupt this program to bring an update on the androids!" The radio interrupts Trunks. Everyone turns and listens to the broadcast intently. "They were last seen attacking South City around a minute ago."

"Well that's my cue," Trunks says nonchalantly, cutting off his tale. "I'm going to put a stop to this once and for all."

"Trunks!" Bulma exclaims, frantically trying to get her son to change his mind about the whole thing. "I don't know about this. I don't want to lose you, son!"

Pan however tries to reassure Bulma. "Auntie Bulma, I think Uncle Trunks can do it. His ki is a lot higher than it was before he left" the young girl explains. "So much so that I can't even feel the end of it like I could before."

Goken nods in confirmation and Trunks gives Pan an appreciative smile. "She's right mom. I could have taken down Cell after he absorbed Android Seventeen in the past, and those androids were _much_ stronger than the ones in this timeline." Trunks then turns super saiyan to prove his point.

Bulma takes a good look at her son. His eyes show the same determination he's always had, but they also show so much confidence like they never did before. The last time she saw that kind of confidence is when she saw Goku fight a very long time ago. She sighs before smiling. "All right, you win. Go bring peace to our timeline son!"

Trunks gives his mother a quick hug, then a thumbs up to the two chibis and takes off toward South City.

* * *

~South City Ruins~

"Eighteen all of the humans in this city are dead! Come on let's get out of here!" shouts a young man around twenty years of age. He has shoulder length black hair with ice blue eyes that strike fear in those that gaze into them. He wears a black tee-shirt with a long sleeved white shirt underneath. The black tee has an emblem that is two white R's with a red background shaped into a bowtie looking shape. He also has dark blue jeans with a brown belt and a gold oval belt buckle. To top off his look, he sports an orange bandana, which he wears around his neck. All in all, he looks like a normal human being.

"I'm still not talking to you!" retaliates a young woman around the same age. Both the man and woman look very similar as if they were twins. The woman has the same icy blue eyes and facial features; however, she has shoulder length blond hair. She is wearing a black long-sleeved tee-shirt, but the sleeves are white with thin black pinstripes. She also has a dark blue vest on that bears the same emblem as the man she is with and even darker blue pants.

The woman is currently destroying everything in sight. Shooting ki beams out of her hands, she blasts all of the buildings, causing mass destruction. There are no signs of life throughout the destruction unfortunately making the man's earlier statement ring true.

"Common Eighteen, you're just being a sore loser!" shouts the man over all of the destruction taking place. The woman just blasted a fifty story skyscraper, making it come tumbling down into smoke and rubble. "Or is this because I destroyed that clothing store or that one guy you actually thought was cute!"

"You never let me have any fun!" the woman shouts back. "Every time I find something yo–" she is cut off by a hard kick to the face that came from above her. She goes flying into a building that was still intact, but barely, making it collapse on her. In the place where the woman stood seconds ago is a familiar golden haired demi-saiyan.

"HA!" laughed the man, pointing at the woman mockingly. "That's what you get for being such a bitch!"

The rubble that the woman was buried under suddenly shoots up. It flies everywhere, revealing the blonde haired woman, clothes in tatters but otherwise unharmed. "Dammit! I had to go to four different clothing stores to find this outfit! Seventeen, let's kill this guy! I'm tired of playing around with him."

Trunks wears an expression of complete anger and determination, staring sharply at the two people that caused the destruction of his timeline. "You androids are ruthless!" Trunks says coldly. "You two go around killing people and destroying cities just for the fun of it! You even had the nerve to attack my mother and my little siblings when I was away!" Trunks flares his super saiyan aura and, wasting no time, charges the black haired man, Android Seventeen. He moves faster than the android can detect and Trunks is suddenly right in front of the android, his palm outstretched to the androids face. "THIS IS FOR GOHAN!" Trunks shouts, firing a devastating ki blast at the defenseless android. The blast disintegrates the android from existence.

The blonde haired woman, Android Eighteen, looks at the crater the ki blast created with complete shock and horror. "Seventeen!" She cries. "You killed him! How could you?!"

"How could _you _kill all of those people that you've been terrorizing?!" Trunks shouts back, indignation clear in his voice. "You're just scared because you know you're outclassed! Now you know what all of the people that have been living in this world have been feeling like the last eighteen years! Well it's time to end this!" Trunks flashes his aura around him and vanishes at a speed the android can't follow only to reappear with his fist in the android's gut, causing her to cough up blood. He then gives her a devastating uppercut to the jaw, sending her flying into the sky.

The android recovers from the blow in time to look at a huge ki blast coming towards her. She doesn't have time to block it and takes the full brunt of the blast, giving her third degree burns all over her body. She starts falling out of the sky only to be grabbed by Trunks by the neck, choking her.

"This is for all of the ones you've murdered mercilessly!" Trunks cries victoriously as he charges up another giant ki blast with his free hand. He blasts her to the next dimension without a trace of her cyborg body remaining.

Trunks returns to the ground, powering down back to his base form. _It's over… wait no, there's one more thing to take care of._ Trunks takes off towards Capsule Corp. knowing all too well that in around three years, Cell will surface, and once that deed is done, _then_ it will be over.

* * *

~Capsule Corporation Training Chamber, West City, Age 788~

"You're almost there Goken!" encourages Trunks. "Think of how the androids attacked you, Pan, and Auntie Bulma! Let the need to protect them flow through you! That's the trigger!"

Over the last three years, Trunks has taken it upon himself to train Goken and Pan to be able to help defend the Earth from another crisis like the androids. He figures that he would need all of the help he could get, and who could have more potential than the son and daughter of Gohan?

Pan had already shown her potential when she transformed into a super saiyan for the first time a year ago at the tender age of ten, proving her to be the youngest super saiyan ever! She even learned to master the transformation after only a month of intense training.

Goken has been even more remarkable. At the age of eight, he continues to look more and more like his grandfather Goku, and he's proving that he can fight like him too! Right now he is on the verge of transforming for the first time and is doing remarkably well. All he needs is that one final push.

Both have also caught on remarkably well when it comes to fighting techniques. They both were able to learn the kamehameha wave, burning attack, masenko blast, as well as a couple of their own signature techniques. Their progress has come along much faster than Trunks could have predicted, not that it's a surprise to him.

Training the chibis has proven to benefit Trunks greatly as well. While correcting errors in the chibis' fighting, he is able to recognize some of his own flaws as well. The chibis, being as observant and quick learning as they are also are able to point out things as well. Trunks, while not too much more powerful, has progressed dramatically in fighting fundamentals and technique as a result.

Over the past three years in the Mirai timeline, Trunks informed the remaining news crews of the androids defeat. He never claimed credit for it however, saying it was the doing of 'the gold saiyan.' Since the announcement had been made, people came out of hiding all around the world and rejoiced. They were pleased to find that there were many more survivors than they thought, although the population of the Earth is only a little over ten million instead of almost seven billion. Even so, the remaining survivors started to rebuild and have made remarkable progress getting things as back to normal as possible.

"Grr…" Goken growls, remembering the memory like it is happening at the moment. He and Pan were playing in the courtyard when they heard Auntie Bulma scream from the lab that they weren't allowed to go in. He and Pan had decided that they should check it out and try to defend their Auntie Bulma, or at least get her out of there. As they approached, Goken had watched helplessly as the androids destroyed half the lab. With Uncle Trunks still in the past, Goken could only watch as the androids threw Auntie Bulma across the lab, knocking her unconscious. Luckily, they thought she was dead and took off, not noticing the two chibis.

_Well no more!_ Goken thinks, determination clear in his thoughts. _I will _never _let that happen again! I _must _protect the ones I love! _ "Gyahh!" screams Goken at the top of his lungs. His hair flickers from black to gold and his eyes from onyx to teal for a few moments before his hair stays gold and spikes up in the exact same fashion as Goku's super saiyan transformation. His eyes stay a solid teal and a bright golden aura surrounds him as evidence of the complete transformation.

"You did it otouto!" screams Pan in delight. She is so happy for her brother that she is on the verge of tears. He's been so close for the past month. He had the ki; all he needed was the right trigger.

"That's it!" yells a grinning Trunks. "Now concentrate on controlling it! You need to calm down!"

Goken struggles controlling the transformed state for a few more seconds and then drops it, collapsing from exhaustion. His hair and eyes return to normal and now he's on all fours, panting and sweating. Pan runs over and tackles her little brother in a crushing hug as Trunks makes his way over.

"You did it Goken! You're a super saiyan!" Pan enthusiastically tells him.

"Easy there Pan the kid's exhausted." Trunks says chuckling. "Let him catch his breath." Pan reluctantly gets off of her brother and helps him stand, muttering apologies. "So Goken," Trunks continues once he is standing. "How does it feel?"

"I… feel… incredible!" Goken pants, still trying to catch his breath. "I felt… so much more… powerful… it was like… there was an… endless well of ki… at my disposal."

"Indeed." confirms Trunks. "It usually feels that way the first time because what you feel is the whole potential of your new transformed body." Trunks gives Goken a pat on the back. "I'm really proud of you Goken!"

Suddenly, all three of them turn their heads in the same direction, all having felt a powerful ki to the northeast. _Finally you show yourself Cell._ Trunks thinks. _Now we can finally bring all of this to a complete end. _

"U-uncle Trunks?" asks Goken, a look of fear on his face. "Who are all of those people and why does their ki make me feel so cold?"

Trunks realizes that this is the first time that the chibis have felt an evil ki since the androids didn't have a ki signature to track them by. He also realizes that Cell's ki signature is confusing them since it feels like multiple kis at once. "Well Goken, those ki signatures you feel most definitely belong to Cell. You can tell because it feels like multiple people at once. I can feel your grandpa, your dad, Krillin, Piccolo, my dad, even myself and you guys." Trunks explains, giving both chibis wide eyes. "The reason it's so cold is because he is evil. That's what a dark ki signature feels like. Whereas whenever I feel one of you guys it gives me warmth, guys like Cell give you the chills." Trunks looks at the worried faces of the chibis and gives them a reassuring smile. "There's really nothing to worry about guys. Cell's not really a threat to me without both androids, and I destroyed them three years ago, though I must stop him now in order to keep him from absorbing innocents."

Trunks transforms into a super saiyan. "I'll be back before you know it. Keep an eye on Auntie Bulma for me!" Trunks then flies off towards Cell's ki signature, giving the chibis a quick wave.

"Uncle Trunks, be careful!" cries a worried Pan waving back to the retreating form of her sensei.

* * *

~North City Mountain Area~

Cell is currently prowling outside of North City getting used to his new body. For the last four years he has been in his larval state, keeping a low profile until he was ready for metamorphosis. Now that he's an adult, he is searching for life energy to feed off of, and what better than one of the major cities of the world. His prowling is interrupted when he feels an abnormally strong ki signature heading his way.

_Ah that must be Trunks. _Cell says in his thoughts. _He should be an excellent source of life energy! Good thing I know everything about him and he knows absolutely nothing about me. Still, I think I will surprise him by hiding my position for now. _Cell dashes into the surrounding mountains and hides his ki signature.

Trunks lands right by where he last felt Cell's ki. "Come out Cell!" He shouts. "I know you're out there! I bet you're searching for Androids Seventeen and Eighteen! That's the only way you'll complete your goal to become perfect. That's what you want right?"

Cell is dumbfounded to say the least. He can't help but come out of hiding and inquire the golden haired demi-saiyan how he knew all about him. "What!? How do you know all of that already?!" Cell exclaims incredulously.

"Well there's no need to search for the androids Cell," Trunks continues, ignoring Cell's inquiry. "I destroyed them three years ago."

"Impossible!" Cell indignantly cries. "My data tells me that you don't even have the strength to fight the androids!" Cell then thinks it over for a moment trying to make sense of the situation. "Wait, I get it now, you learned about me in the past and found the androids weakness in the past as well. No matter, you should still be no match for me, I will kill you and then take a little trip to the past!"

Trunks just smirks. "Well you see Cell you're right; I did go to the past, and I fought you Cell. You were strong, incredibly so when you were complete. However, as you are now, you're nothing!" Without warning, Trunks blasts Cell with an invisible wall of ki, sending the unsuspecting android flying off in the distance away from the city. Trunks pursues after the android as soon as he is out of sight.

By the time Cell regains control of himself, he has traveled well over 100 miles. He lands on top of a plateau with Trunks landing on a plateau across from him.

"So your trip to the past made you a little stronger," Cell admits, although there is still a smug look on his face. A golden aura explodes around Cell and he raises his ki to its maximum. "But to say I'm nothing is a joke!"

Trunks compares Cell's ki to his own and actually laughs. "Wow Cell. You really are nothing! I know someone else that actually could probably defeat you, an eleven year old girl to be exact!" A golden aura explodes around Trunks now, twice as big and bright as Cell's.

"You're bluffing!" Cell shouts, although he knows that's a lie by the feel of Trunks' ki. Still, he holds his confident façade. "You can't even defeat me, let alone any girl!" Cell charges Trunks only to strike an afterimage.

"No Cell! You're finished! The nightmare's over!" Trunks shouts from the top of a mountain behind Cell. Both of his hands are outstretched in the classic diamond formation of his signature attack. "BURNING ATTACK!" A huge orange wave of ki flies out of Trunks' hands straight at Cell, destroying every cell of his existence.

Trunks drops his super saiyan transformation and takes a big sigh in relief. "Now it's finally over." He then puts on a smile and flies back to Capsule Corps. to tell everyone the good news.

* * *

~Capsule Corporation Living Quarters, West City~

Pan and Goken are watching a movie with Bulma when the two chibis notice Trunks' ki coming in their direction. "Auntie Bulma, Trunks is back!" Pan shouts in joy. "And I don't feel that dark ki anymore either!"

At that moment, Trunks flies in through the open window. He is prepared for the chibis this time and manages not to get knocked down by their hug. Trunks pries off the chibis, ruffling their hair. "Hey guys. Miss me?"

"Wow Uncle Trunks!" Goken excitedly says. "I didn't know you were so strong! That felt incredible! You beat that guy like he was nothing!"

Trunks chuckles at the chibi's excitement. "Well to tell you the truth, he was strong, but all of our training together has really paid off! I bet you Pan could have beaten that guy too if she went all out."

Pan looks up at Trunks in awe. "You really think I'm that strong?" she says unsure if she heard him right.

Trunks picks up Pan and holds her at eye level. "I _know_ so." He says confidently. He gives her a quick hug before he puts her back on the ground.

Goken goes over to his sister who is still speechless from Trunks' declaration. "Wow neesan! You're really strong!" he declares, super impressed. "That evil guy felt really strong, yet Uncle Trunks says you could have beaten him!"

As Goken continues to praise Pan and beg her to show him her true strength, Trunks walks over to his mother and gives her a hug. "It's over mom. It's finally over," Trunks says happily. "There's only one thing left I need to do. I promised everyone in the past that I would come back and tell them the good news once I freed our timeline."

Bulma hugs back and looks at the man her son has become. She couldn't be any more proud of him that she is right now. "Alright, son. It will be nice for you to visit on a happier note for a change." She then starts walking towards her private lab. "I'll get the time machine ready."

At the mention of the time machine, the chibis rush over to Trunks." Uncle Trunks?" Pan asks innocently. "Can we go with you to the past?"

"We really want to see our daddy," adds Goken. Both of them then give Trunks their best Son puppy dog eyes.

Trunks, unable to say no to that look, says, "Why don't you ask Auntie Bulma. She knows more about this kind of stuff than I do." He hopes that they accept that answer because he doesn't know how much more of that look he can resist before giving in.

"Okay!" both chibis respond simultaneously, running down the hallway towards Bulma's lab. Trunks sighs in relief and follows after them.

* * *

~Bulma's Private Laboratory~

"Auntie Bulma!" the voices of two chibis rings throughout the laboratory.

"Now what do you two want?" Bulma says, trying to sound irritated, but can't help but smile at the two chibis.

"We asked Uncle Trunks if we could go to the past with him and he told us to ask you because he said you know the time travel stuff better than he does so we would like to ask you if we could go to the past with Uncle Trunks because we would like to see our daddy and our mommy and our grandpa and grandma and you and Uncle Vegeta and–"

"You want to go to the past with Uncle Trunks?" Bulma cuts off the hyperactive eight year old.

"Yeah!" Both shout simultaneously. They await Bulma's answer eagerly, throwing in the puppy dog eyes for good measure.

Bulma seriously ponders their request. _ This isn't the greatest idea. They could jeopardize their existence in that timeline. But on the other hand, they could get to meet Gohan, even though he's only a little older than Pan in that timeline. However if they meet Gohan, they absolutely cannot meet their mother. That would seriously jeopardize their existence. Oh man what do I say? _Bulma takes a look at those puppy dog eyes one more time and finally caves. "Oh alright–"

"YEAH!" The chibis cry in delight.

"I finally get to meet daddy!" Goken shouts, dancing around in circles with Pan.

"BUT" Bulma continues, getting the attention of both chibis. As much as she loves seeing them as happy as they've been in a very long time, she has to reiterate that there are rules that they have to follow. "There are certain rules you both have to follow. You guys just being there has some serious risks to your existence in that timeline, so rule one. When you meet your dad, you have to make sure that you do _not_ say who your mother is. In time they will find each other, but at this point in time your dad is only a little older than Pan." The chibis nod at this. That shouldn't be so hard right?

"Rule two. You are to be with at least one of the competent Z-fighter adults or your father at all times during your trip. No going off on your own. We don't know what your actions could do to alter the timeline. As you already saw with Trunks' first two trips, his presence alone did things such as delay the heart virus that your grandfather got." Again the chibis nod their head. That's a reasonable request. Besides they want to be with their family and friends for as long as they can anyways.

"Rule three. If you run into your mother, you _cannot _tell her that you are her kids from the future. I know–" Bulma cuts off the chibis' protests. "You want to meet her and tell her all about yourself, but unlike your father, she was not originally part of our group. In fact, at that point, I would not be surprised that because of her father that she would even believe you. You have to remember that to people outside of our group, concepts such as ki control and time travel are all either foreign, or completely mythical to them, especially for her family. If you walk up to her and say 'Hi I'm your kid from the future' then that might scare her. Do you guys understand? This is a very important rule. If you're not willing to follow this one, then you can't go back with Uncle Trunks." Bulma gives them a stern look at this and reluctantly, the chibis nod their heads in understanding of the rule.

"Alright then, since you guys understand the rules, you can go. Hey Trunks!" Bulma shouts out the door. Trunks comes on in a few moment later

"Yeah mom?" Trunks responds, grinning at the grinning chibis by her side. "I take it by their faces that you told them they could go."

"Yes, and I debriefed them on the conditions. It's up to you to reiterate these rules to the Z-fighters and to make sure these two follow them." Bulma says sternly. She then drops the serious attitude and gives him a smile. "This is a great opportunity for them to meet their family and friends. I bet you Chichi will flip out about grandkids."

Trunks and Bulma both laugh at that statement. "Flip out is an understatement!" Trunks adds in between laughs. He and Bulma eventually calm themselves down and then Trunks addresses his mother once more. "So, is the time machine ready?"

"Yes, all systems are go." Bulma confirms. "Have fun you three."

"Thanks mom!" Trunks replies. He then looks at the two chibis that recently came by his side. "You guys ready to meet your dad?"

"Yeah!" is their enthusiastic reply.

Trunks opens the top hatch of the time machine and climbs in and programs the machine. He then beckons the chibis to climb in. They all squeeze together and Trunks closes the overhead dome. "See you in two days mom!" Trunks shouts as the time machine rises into the air and eventually vanishes from that timeline.

* * *

Translations:

chibi- cute kid, dwarf

oniisan- older brother (formal)

niisan- older brother (informal)

oneesan- older sister (formal)

neesan- older sister (informal)

otoutosan- younger brother (formal)

otouto- younger brother (informal)

ki- energy

sensei- teacher, master


	5. Special Meetings

**A/N: Hey hey! As promised, I'm updating early because I work in the pharmacy from 0630-1600 so it's going to be a long day... but I figured that you guys deserve an early update.**

**I've gotten some comments about the mixing in some basic Japanese into the story. I know that some people find it annoying, but this is a point I'm not going to budge on. I love the Japanese language, so I really wanted to integrate simple terms such as "ki" and "niisan" into the story. I will only limit it to certain words, particularly the words for brother and sister, and teacher and student.**

**For me, it is easier to write "oniisan" for "older brother" and "otoutosan" for "younger brother" as with two separate words, you know what the age of said brother is in comparison to the speaker. Another note on this is I will only usually use Japanese terms for brother and sister in dialogue, so it won't be in the prose. Just a heads up for everyone that's reading as this will be common throughout the remainder of the story .**

**However, if anyone feels that I go a little over the top (I tend to do that at times), let me know through comments and PMs. I will make changes if it takes away from the story too much.**

**Well enough of my ranting! This chapter's already long enough without it! Enjoy!**

"dialogue"

_thoughts_

_"telepathic communication"_

~change in setting~

*action*

**flashback**

* * *

Chapter 4: Special Meetings

~Bulma's Private Laboratory, Capsule Corporation, West City, Age 768~

Trunks, Pan, and Goken have just landed in Bulma's Private Lab in the past. Currently, they are scouting the area for any of the Z-fighters by ki sensing.

"Oh my Kami!" Goken exclaims, wide eyed. "Do you feel all of those kis? There has to be at least six big kis, and two gigantic kis that rival yours, Uncle Trunks!"

"Y-yeah…" Pan stammers. "and do you feel those other two? They're both absolutely ridiculous, but one of them is just… I've never felt anything like it…"

Trunks can't help but smile at the chibis' reactions to feeling the Z-fighters. He realizes that this is the first time that they've been encountered with so many strong people on one planet. "Well guys, those kis are all of the Z-fighters. The six stronger than average kis are Krillin, Tien, Yamcha, Chiaotzu, Master Roshi, and Chichi, your grandmother. They are all humans that have learned of ki manipulation. Krillin is probably the strongest of them and is also your grandfather's best friend."

"The two kis that rival mine are none other than my father, your Uncle Vegeta, and Piccolo. You've heard a lot about both of them so I don't need to tell you who those two are. However, the last two kis are far stronger than me, especially that other one. I bet you can guess who they are."

"They both feel so warm… they must be daddy and grandpa!" Pan exclaims excitedly. "Is our dad really the bigger one?"

"Yes he is," Trunks answers with a smile on his face. "I wasn't kidding when I said your dad was probably the strongest in the universe."

"Are you serious Uncle Trunks?" Goken asks the older demi-saiyan incredulously. "I knew he was strong, but the strongest in the unverse? How is that possible? I thought he was only eleven in this timeline!"

Knowing where this is going, Pan cuts off her brother. "Goken," she says irritated. How many times must her brother question everything? Weren't children supposed to be naive and believe almost anything? "Why don't you just trust Uncle Trunks on this okay? After all, he did see daddy in action so he knows how strong he actually is." She crosses her arms across her chest smugly. "If he says daddy's the strongest in the universe, then I believe him!"

Trunks smiles at Pan before ruffling Goken's hair. "I'm glad that you trust me so much Pan, but I understand where Goken's skepticism comes from. It is pretty hard to believe that an eleven year old, whether it's Gohan or not, is the strongest in the universe." He then takes a long look at Goken. "You're mother was the same way you know."

Before either of the chibis can answer however, they are interrupted by the sudden presence of Goku and Gohan, who used instant transmission to teleport directly to the new kis. This startles the chibis and they both run behind Trunks, hiding behind his legs.

"Trunks!" Goku exclaims. His expression becomes suddenly serious. "Is there another threat coming?"

"No, there's no new threat," Trunks answers quickly. "I come bearing good news this time."

Goku sighs in relief as Gohan notices the two chibis hiding behind Trunks. "Hey Trunks, who are those two hiding behind your leg?" Gohan says, slightly amused. He then puts on a soft smile and walks over to Trunks. "Hey there's no reason to be afraid of us, we're not going to hurt you," he gently beckons the two chibis.

Pan and Goken slowly come out from hiding behind Trunks, where they both show apprehensive looks on their faces, rocking on their heels with both hands behind their backs.

Both Goku and Gohan's jaws drop. They look exactly like Goku and Chichi! "Dad… there's a little you and there's a little mom…" Gohan says, stunned at their resemblance to his parents. "Did you go back even farther in the past and get my parents?"

Trunks starts laughing at Gohan's comment as the chibis continue to look nervous. It's true that the resemblance is uncanny. As soon as Trunks calms down, he answers Gohan's question. "No Gohan, these two are from my timeline and are very special to me." Trunks then drops to eye level with the two chibis and addresses them. "Guys, there's no reason to be afraid. Why don't you introduce yourselves?"

Gohan and Goku patiently wait as the two chibis work up the courage to introduce themselves. They are so nervous! Who knew meeting your dad and grandfather for the first time could be so scary. What if they don't like them? What if they don't believe that they're their offspring from the future? What if the idea of having kids scares daddy and he tries avoiding them? Finally though, the desire to meet their dad and grandfather outweighs their trepidations.

The Chichi clone introduces herself first. "M-my name's Pan…" she timidly says.

"I'm Goken…" the Goku clone says next. Both chibis nervously break off at that.

Goku and Gohan both approach the two chibis with matching smiles on their faces. Obviously they are related to them. The resemblance is too uncanny not to be. "Hi," Gohan gently says, trying to not be too intimidating. "My name's Gohan and this," gesturing towards his father, "is my dad, Goku. Nice to meet you two." He then outstretches his hand and gives them the ever famous Son grin.

Goken and Pan look at each other, and then at the chibi standing in front of them with his hand outstretched. He seems really nice! And his ki feels so warm! They both simultaneously cry out "Daddy!" and jump him, knocking him over. They are both sobbing with excitement at finally meeting their father, hugging him for dear life.

Gohan is on the ground stunned. _They're _my _kids? I thought they were my little brother and sister since Goken looks so much like Goten. I guess it makes sense though. Dad did die in that timeline before the androids even_ came.

Gohan pokes his head up from underneath the children and takes a good look at the hysterical chibis. _Still though, I can't believe that they're actually_ my _kids! It's hard to imagine since I'm not even twelve yet! I don't remember Trunks mentioning anything about them_. _The strange thing is though, even though I didn't even know of their existence until now, I can tell they're mine because I already love them._

Gohan immediately returns the hug and tries to pick himself up, which is pretty challenging considering that Pan is actually bigger than him and Goken is almost as big as Pan. He then patiently waits for them to calm down rubbing Pan's back soothingly and running his hand through Goken's unruly hair.

Goku isn't shocked at who the two future chibis revealed themselves to be and currently is smiling at the situation taking place in front of him. He actually figured they were his grandkids from the future ever since he saw their faces and timid attitudes. They acted the same way Gohan did when Goku introduced him to the Z-fighters on Master Roshi's Island seven years ago, plus they look so much like him that they couldn't be anyone else other than Gohan's children. He also notices how he's treating the chibis, showing that he knows what to do in this situation despite never having been in it before. This just shows him how mature Gohan has become, and shows that he would make a great father someday.

Trunks is grinning like a madman at the moment. He's so happy for Goken and Pan. They finally get to see what an incredible person their father actually is that they've heard so much about. He wishes that they could still have Gohan in their timeline, but he knows that can't happen so he lets them take as much time as they need to finally let it sink in that they actually get to meet their father.

"So Trunks," Goku addresses the adult demi-sayian while waiting for the hysterical chibis to calm down. "What was your news? Did you finally destroy the androids?"

Trunks looks away from the three chibis for the moment and looks at the full blooded saiyan, still grinning widely. "Yes actually. That's the reason I came back in the first place: to inform you guys that the future has been freed. Actually originally I was just going to stay a couple of hours, but since I brought Pan and Goken along, I figured that we should let them meet everyone and stay for a few days."

"Alright! Way to go Trunks!" Goku congratulates. "You can finally rebuild your timeline. And I'm sure Chichi will be ecstatic to meet these two," motioning at the two sobbing chibis attached to his son.

"Goku! What are you doing in my–" Bulma interrupts, but cuts herself off at the sight of Mirai Trunks and the scene between the three chibis. "Trunks… is that you?"

Trunks shifts his gaze at the younger version of his mother. "Hi mom! I'm back!" Trunks cheerfully says, walking over to his mother and giving her a hug. "Goku, mom, why don't we take this to the Living Quarters? Gohan!" Trunks shouts over his shoulder at the chibi trio. "When those two calm down enough, bring them to the Living Quarters."

Gohan just nods and returns his focus to the still hysterical chibis in his arms. He continues to patently wait and sooth them.

Trunks smiles at them once again. _Kami, I can already tell that Gohan is going to be a great father. He already puts those two above everything else and he only met them not even ten minutes ago. _Trunks then calmly leads his confused mother and a grinning Goku out of the lab and leaves Gohan alone with his children.

Finally after another five minutes of soothing gestures by Gohan, he finally gets Pan and Goken to calm their sobs. He then attempts to speak to them again. "So you two are my kids?" he asks curiously. They both nod their heads slowly, unsure of how he will take this information. "Judging by your ages and reaction to seeing me, I take it you either never met me or you don't remember me in that timeline. Am I right?" Again, both chibis slowly nod their heads affirmatively. "Well," Gohan continues, a huge grin on his face. "I'm very glad I got to meet you two! I'm so happy to finally see you!"

Goken looks up at his dad with an expression of uncertainty. "You mean you're not freaking out because we're your kids from the future you never even knew you had?" he asks with an unbelieving voice. He can't believe that his daddy has been so calm and welcoming. It's almost too good to be true!

Pan slaps her head. "Goken!" she whines, clearly tired of her brother's antics. "Why must you question everything?"

Gohan giggles at Pan's reaction. Apparently this has happened before. "It's okay Pan," He finally gets out, looking at the little girl. "I can see why he would think that way. In fact, I bet you anyone else, even with knowledge of time traveling _would _freak out if they were my age, but I guess I'm special. I really don't know how since I've only met you like fifteen minutes ago, but I can already tell that you're my children, and I would have figured it out quickly, even if you guys didn't call me daddy."

Gohan looks first at Pan to see her reaction, and it almost makes him laugh again. She is in awe with everything he said. Apparently the little guy isn't the only one with a few doubts, and reasonably so.

Then he looks at his future son. The resemblance to his father is unnatural. It's almost like he's a clone! He can't help but smile though at the grin that is forming on the little guy's face, probably due to the fact that Gohan found his skepticism justifiable.

"Do you really mean that daddy?" Pan asks, now wondering if her daddy is just trying to make them feel better; however, being the skillful emotion reader that she is, she can tell that Gohan is only telling the truth, but she just can't help but ask since it all seems too good to be true.

Gohan grins at both of them the famous grin that his future counterpart gave to them. "You bet I do! In fact, I'm not exactly sure how, but I already love you both more than I've loved anyone before!" He says truthfully, but thinks over that for a minute and then thoughtfully adds, "Well, perhaps I love my little brother just as much, but you get the idea!"

Both chibis' eyes widen to the size of dinner plates at that statement. They can't believe it! Not only does their daddy believe that they're his kids from the future and he has not freaked out, but he also loves them like no one else? To feel that way about two people that you didn't even know existed twenty minutes ago is simply unheard of, but neither chibi can detect any falsity in his emotions or actions, so they believe him wholeheartedly.

Their expressions soon turn to grins and they give their father a big hug, showing him how much that truthful declaration means to them. Uncle Trunks was right! He is the nicest, greatest, most special daddy in the whole universe! Maybe even better than that!

Gohan happily returns the hug. He meant it when he said that his love for them rivals that of his love for his new baby brother. To him, it's mind boggling, almost downright scary how much he can love someone only after twenty minutes of knowing they exist, but he knows it's true and he's embracing it.

He embraces them for a few more minutes, and finally let them go. Now smiling softly at them, he addresses something he noticed earlier about the two. "Boy I can tell that Trunks has been training you two!" He comments. "I can already tell you guys are incredibly strong and that in itself makes me very proud of you two." He looks to see the reactions of his two future children and can see them beaming at the praise.

"Daddy I just turned super saiyan yesterday and Pan's already a super saiyan!" Goken chirps, now bouncing up and down excitedly. "In fact, Uncle Trunks says that Pan could have taken out Cell if she went all out!"

"Well, in his first form…" Pan adds in sheepishly rubbing the back of her head, slightly blushing from all of the praise she's getting from her brother and father.

Gohan is once again stunned. It took him forever to become a super saiyan and his two children have already achieved that level and they're not even his age yet! He beams at his kids. "Wow guys, that's really impressive! You'll have to show me later. Right now though we should go to the Living Quarters and let you meet everyone else. Do you want me to show you a neat trick I just learned?"

Pan and Goken both nod enthusiastically, making Gohan chuckle. "Alright, Pan, put your hand on my right shoulder and Goken, put yours on my left." Both chibis comply and Gohan puts two fingers to his forehead and uses instant transmission to teleport them to the Living Quarters.

* * *

~Capsule Corporation Living Quarters~

Trunks has just gotten done explaining his reason for coming back to this timeline as well as bringing Pan and Goken to Bulma and Vegeta. Bulma is obviously very pleased with the good news and Vegeta just grunts his approval, although deep down, he's proud of his son, not that he will ever admit it. However, Bulma has concerns about bringing Pan and Goken.

"Trunks, you know better than anyone the risks of bringing those two," Bulma states firmly. "I know you wanted them to meet their father, but this could seriously risk their existence in this timeline. Do you know who their mother was?"

Trunks hesitates before answering. "Yes I do, but you know as well as I do that I can't say who she is. They know as well, but she died right after Goken was born. Don't worry mom, I already went over this with them and they agreed to not let anyone know. Besides, I think the benefits of them being here greatly outweigh the risks. You don't realize how much they wanted to meet Gohan. I've told them so many stories about him, yet they never actually got to see him."

"Alright son, I trust you," Bulma replies. "Like I said, you know this time travel business better than anyone. Just make sure that they only meet the Z-fighters."

"So, on a happier note," Goku butts in, trying to lighten the mood a little, "there's a martial arts tournament coming up. Trunks, you already said you're gonna spend a couple days here, right? This tournament is coming up next week. Would you care to stick around long enough to compete?"

"Well I don't know Goku," Trunks answers hesitantly. "I was only going to spend a few days, a week may be pushing it. Besides, who's entering?"

"Well everyone!" Goku enthusiastically replies. "I'm competing, along with Gohan, Vegeta, Piccolo, Krillin–"

"Who cares about those other weaklings, Kakarot!" Vegeta interrupts. "You know as well as I do that the only ones that matter are you, me, and your half-breed brat!" He then turns his attention to Trunks. "You should consider entering son so I can see if you've been keeping up with your training these past three years, plus I need somewhat of a challenge if I want to get anything out of this blasted tournament."

Trunks seriously ponders the option. He figures that it would give Pan and Goken more time to be with their family they never knew. He also figures it's another way to gain his father's respect if he does well. "I guess it won't hurt to stay a little extra, plus this tournament sounds fun! I think I'll enter."

Vegeta just grunts his approval, although a smirk appears on his face, and Goku beams at the prospect. "All right! This tournament just got more interesting!" Goku cries, obviously excited at seeing Trunks in action.

At this moment, Gohan appears in the middle of the Living Quarters with two chibis in tow, surprising Bulma and Vegeta as well as Trunks.

"Wow daddy! That was so cool!" Goken chirps, completely oblivious to the stares they are receiving.

"I know right?" Gohan responds, also oblivious to the attention he's getting. "That's something I picked up from your grandfather. It's called–"

"Kakarot!" Vegeta interrupts indignantly, causing the three chibis in the middle of the room to jump. "When did your brat learn instant transmission?!"

"Your guess is as good as mine Vegeta," Goku responds sheepishly. "I just found out earlier when Chichi went into labor–"

"What?!" Trunks interrupts, shock apparent on his face. "You had another child earlier?"

"Yep!" Gohan answers for his father. A gleam appears in his eyes at the mention of his new baby brother. "I have a new brother! His name is Goten. I actually was going to show these two him as soon as mom wakes up."

It was then that Vegeta and Bulma finally notice the two extra chibis that he had been talking about. Bulma's eyes widen at the resemblance Pan and Goken show to their grandparents.

"So Kakarot," Vegeta sneers, "it's obvious that those two are the spawns of your brat from the future are they not?" Of course Trunks already mentioned that they were here earlier when he was explaining why he came back, but after seeing the two future chibis, there's absolutely no question.

Once again, Gohan beats Goku to the punch in answering someone's question. He's obviously very thrilled about the meeting of his two children from the future he never even knew existed. "Yes, they're my children from Trunks' timeline." He then pulls both into a one arm hug and rubs their backs. Again, that gleam he got when talking about Goten returns to his eyes and he grins as he introduces his children. "The girl here is Pan and the boy here is Goken. From what I've heard and from what I can feel, they already are very powerful. I'm sure you can feel it too Vegeta."

"Hmph," is the saiyan prince's characteristic reply. "They've obviously been trained by my son. It's settled then; they're entering the tournament as well."

"WHAT?!" is the unanimous reply throughout the room.

"I want to see how well Trunks has trained the two brats. If they are as powerful as Kakarot's brat says they are then they will do well, plus I want to know if my son from the future is wasting his time on them or not."

"Vegeta!" Bulma shrieks, making everyone else cover their ears. "One, they are from the future! They could risk their existence in this timeline if they compete! What if their mother sees us there and recognizes them huh? And two, that's not even your decision to make, it's theirs and Gohan's!"

"WOMAN!" Vegeta yells back. "Not so loud! And what do I care if these brats are never born? They're spawns of Kakarot! It doesn't matter if they–"

Vegeta is cut off by an explosion. In the middle of the room is a super saiyan Gohan, sending Vegeta a death glare that even makes him flinch. Everyone, including Pan and Goken, is taken aback by this sudden outburst. "Don't you _ever_ say that Pan and Goken don't matter!" His tone is low but is lined with authority and malice. "If I _ever_ catch you saying that about my children again Vegeta you will _not_ like the consequences."

Gohan continues to glare at the saiyan prince and flares his ki a bit to show him who's superior in power before returning to his base form. He then takes a deep breath and approaches his two children, who are both awed and scared by their father at the moment. As he approaches, they back away a little, and Gohan sighs in frustration. _Great, now they're afraid of me. Way to go Gohan._

"I'm sorry I scared you guys. I really hope you guys realize that I would never hurt you two. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I did. I really hope you can forgive me for my sudden outburst, although I'll understand if you don't want anything to do with a psycho dad." His face drops at his last statement, showing how much the approval of his future children means to him.

However, at that moment, both Pan and Goken rush to their father and give him another hug. They realize that the only reason he got angry in the first place was to defend them, plus he already said he wouldn't hurt them. Even though they've only known Gohan for less than an hour, they already place a great deal of trust in him.

Gohan enthusiastically returns he hug, letting out a sigh of relief that they aren't afraid of him. He then loosens his grip a little and returns to the comforting gestures he was doing earlier, rubbing Pan's back and running his hand through Goken's hair. This continues for another few minutes in silence, the adults in the room still recovering from Gohan's little outburst. Finally, Gohan releases his two children.

"Why don't we go meet your infant uncle hmm?" Gohan asks his kids, half-chuckling at the prospect of having an infant for an uncle. They both nod and Gohan leads them towards the Medical Ward where his mother is currently recovering from her recent birth. As the trio leaves the room, a smirk finds its way on Vegeta's face.

"So, the brat's more of a saiyan than I gave him credit for," Vegeta remarks. Everyone else in the room throws Vegeta questioning glances.

"What are you talking about Vegeta?" Bulma inquires,

"What you just witnessed is a saiyan's parental drive," Vegeta explains. "We saiyans have a deep connection with our offspring, no matter if it's from this timeline or not. Have any of you noticed how close that brat is with his brats already, even though they've just met less than an hour ago?"

"Yeah, I did find that kind of strange," Bulma realizes. "I mean I know they're his kids and everything, but even I wasn't that way with Trunks when he showed up."

"Like I said woman, it's a saiyan thing." Vegeta continues. "The bonds of a saiyan form much quicker than human ones."

"So father," Trunks cuts in. "If that's true, how come _you_ don't seem to have that strong of a bond with me?" If what he says about saiyans and their offspring is true, then shouldn't his father have a bond that's just as strong as Gohan's is with his kids?

"Brat, just because I don't wear my emotions on my sleeve like Kakarot or his brat doesn't mean I don't have a saiyan parental bond with you." Vegeta retorts, causing Trunks' expression to change to one of genuine surprise. "True saiyans don't show emotions, as they are a sign of weakness. Kakarot, having grown up on Earth, is an exception to this; however, the way both he and his brat act towards their kin shows how much stronger a saiyan parental bond is than a human one." While Vegeta normally isn't one to patiently explain things, when it comes to the saiyan heritage, he always seems to want to talk about it. This just goes to show how much pride the prince takes in his race.

Trunks honestly is speechless. He had no clue how his father could have a parental bond when he was treated so... coldly! Once he thinks it over however, he realizes that Vegeta does treat him much less cold than everyone else besides his mother. He also always wondered why his father's approval meant so much to him, even though he had never met him before. Trunks realizes that his father is right; though he hides it well, his father too has a deep parental bond with him, and the demi-saiyan can't help but smile at that information.

After a few moments of silence where everyone in the room takes in what Vegeta had just said, Goku finally breaks the silence. "So do you think Pan and Goken could compete in the tournament?" Goku asks, changing the subject. "I really want to see what they can do."

"Goku, like mom said, they could seriously jeopardize their existence if they do," Trunks answers. "Me entering is one thing since I already exist in this timeline, plus my parents are already together. However, if _their_ mother finds out and demands them for answers, well let's just say that wouldn't go well for them. If there's one thing I know about their mother it's that she is extremely persistent at finding out the truth and Pan and Goken are as good at lying as Gohan is, plus they would be tempted to answer them truthfully anyways since they don't remember their mother either… but I suppose it is up to them and up to Gohan. After all they are his kids."

"I see…" Goku says a little disappointed. "Well whatever, I still want to see what they can do. Maybe we can spar when we get home."

* * *

The four adults continue to discuss the upcoming tournament and their new visitors for the rest of the afternoon while Gohan introduces his mom to her grandkids. After hours of crying and hugging from the Son matron and hours of playing with Goten for Gohan, they bid both farewell as they allow Chichi to rest with Goten, although Goten was left whimpering at his brothers disappearance. Gohan, Pan, and Goken return to the Living Quarters a while later.

"Dad," Gohan addresses his father. "Mom has to stay here a few days with Goten to recover from labor so whenever you're ready, we can go home."

"Nonsense!" Bulma quickly replies before Goku can (that's been happening to Goku a lot lately). "You guys can stay in the Guest Suite while Chichi's here. We have plenty of room."

"Well, what do you guys think?" Gohan inquires of Pan and Goken. "You guys are staying with us right?"

The chibis eyes both brighten up at the prospect of staying with their dad. "Do you mean that daddy?" Goken asks with hopeful eyes.

"We really don't want you to think you have to let us stay with you. I mean you only just met us…" Pan adds, but hopeful Gohan will say otherwise.

Gohan just embraces his children for what seems like the thousandth time since they've been here. "Of course I know I don't have to let you, but I want you to stay with us. I don't care if I only just met you two a couple of hours ago, you're still my kids and I love you more than anything. Besides, I want to get to know you better… that is, if it's okay with Trunks." He lifts his gaze at Trunks at his last statement.

It's true: he feels a special connection with his children from the Mirai Timeline. He doesn't understand it, but he has already formed a deep parental bond with his two children, and now he can't get enough of them. He is driven to protect them at all costs and he puts them over everything else, just like he does with Goten.

Trunks waves his hand at Gohan in a dismissive gesture. "Their _your_ kids. What power do I have over them?"

"Trunks," Gohan answers, seriousness lacing his voice. "I know they technically aren't your kids, but they may as well be. You've been their father figure for as long as they can remember, and from what I've seen so far, you've done an incredible job with them. Your word means just as much as mine does."

Trunks is baffled by the truth and sincerity in Gohan's declaration. Now that he thinks about it, he realizes that Gohan is right. He really has been more of a father figure to Pan and Goken ever since he and his mother took them in. He's the one that cared for them when they were sick; he's the one that protected them from the androids; he's the one that got them food to eat and trained them to defend themselves.

_I guess I really have been a father to them,_ he silently ponders. _I never thought of it that way._ He's also baffled at how an eleven year old Gohan figured it out when he never realized it himself. It's almost sad how mature he is for his age. "Once again, you're right Gohan, but I can see that they really want to stay with you plus I know you would never let anything happen to them. They can stay with you if they want–"

"YAY!" both chibis answer, running over to Trunks and giving him a hug. "Thank you Uncle Trunks!"

Trunks ruffles their hair affectionately. "Well I know you want to get to know your dad. It's no big deal."

"AHEM!" Bulma coughs, getting everyone's attention back on her. "You still haven't answered my question. Are you staying here or not Goku?"

"Sure, why not?" Goku responds (finally he answers a question). "We don't have much extra space at home for Pan and Goken anyways."

"Well it's settled then," Bulma states affirmatively. "The Guest Suite is right off of the Living Quarters. Follow me and I'll show you where to go." She gestures the Sons with a wave of her hand, beckoning them to follow her.

"Goodnight Uncle Trunks!" Goken utters, waving at the adult demi-saiyan.

"We'll see you in the morning!" Pan adds in, also waving to Trunks. They both then catch up to their father and follow Bulma to the Guest Suite.

Gohan notices his father isn't following them and becomes puzzled. "Aren't you coming dad?" he inquires the adult saiyan.

"You go on ahead Gohan," Goku responds to his son. "Spend some more time with your kids. I'll catch up to you guys in a bit. I need to talk to Trunks about something."

Gohan just shrugs and then nods in affirmation of his father as Trunks raises an eyebrow in question of what Goku could possibly need to talk to him in private for. "Come on guys, I wanna find out all about you two!" Gohan excitedly addresses his two children. They enthusiastically run up to him and the three chibi Sons follow Bulma to the Guest Suite.

When the children are out of the room, Goku turns his attention to the lavender haired demi-saiyan. "Trunks, I want to thank you for bringing those two with you. I know it was a great risk, but Gohan is so happy because of it."

Trunks is confused as to why this is a big enough deal to Goku to address him privately about it and thank him. "No problem Goku. I actually did it for them. Ever since they've heard about the time machine they've wanted to go to the past to meet him. I've told them so many stories about him that they've wanted to see what kind of person he really is. I have to ask you though, what do you mean by the fact that Gohan is so happy? Wasn't he happy before I came? Has something happened since the last time I was here?"

Goku's face turns into a serious expression as he divulges Trunks into what has gone on in the past nine months. "Trunks, I don't think Gohan has forgiven himself for what happened at the Cell Games. He has been completely doubting himself and he has been terrified of going to the second level. It seems like he… he blames himself for every little thing that goes wrong." Goku's mood turns to one of deep concern. "I'm worried about him Trunks… he seems to have a seed of self-loathing imbedded in him."

"What?" Trunks doesn't believe what he's hearing. That is pretty much the exact opposite of the way he has been acting today. Trunks would have never suspected anything was wrong with Gohan.

"Yeah, and that's not all." Goku somberly continues. "He seems to think that everyone resents him because of it. Some other events have transpired here since you left. Over the months after the Cell games, Piccolo and I made a point to train Gohan to control his super saiyan 2 powers. For the first four months, Gohan was making remarkable progress, being able to control himself more and more." Goku's mood then darkens a little more. "Then, five months ago, there was a rebellion in Hell, led by Cell and Frieza. Gohan and I took care of it, but in his battle against Cell, Gohan relapsed."

"I didn't see the battle, but he told me that he tortured Cell worse that time. I tried my best to reassure him that he's still the same Gohan, but I didn't exactly know what to say since I don't know what he's going through. Ever since then, I've made more of a concerted effort than ever to reassure him of my approval and my pride in him. A day doesn't go by where I don't tell him how proud of him I am, and for a while, it seemed to be working."

Goku becomes more worried about his eldest son as he continues to tell Trunks his story. "At first I thought it was just Cell, that it was his presence that made him that way. After all, the only two times that that has become that way was when he was around Cell, but it happened again earlier today… when he ascended for the first time since the rebellion five months ago."

"He lost it against Piccolo and I. When he first transformed, it seemed like he was arguing with himself… like there was some kind of internal conflict going on. Then he… he…" Goku finds it hard to continue at this point, but takes a deep breath and continues nonetheless. "He just totally snapped. One second I see my sweet, innocent son, the next second, his eyes became cold and heartless. It started with Piccolo. He brutally attacked both of us, but he was more going after Piccolo. He kicked him so hard in the neck; I thought that Piccolo might have broken it. I can't imagine the look of horror that must have been on my face."

"Then, he went after me next, and somehow, just before he was going to do the same type of thing to me, he snapped back into reality and stared at me like he was afraid that if I even breathed on him that he would get seriously hurt. That look of pure terror on his face was what scared me the most. My son, the most powerful being in the universe, was completely terrified of me. He immediately returned to his base form and fell to the ground and curled into the fetal position, crying and shaking from pure fear. I had no clue what to say. I've come to realize that this goes much deeper than just Cell."

Trunks is seriously taken aback form these events. He had no clue what Gohan has been going through. "You said that this happened earlier today? I can't believe it, judging by the way he's been acting since I've been here."

Goku then looks back at Trunks, having been staring at the floor for some time. The mood Goku shows seems to be a lot lighter, although still somber as he answers Trunks. "You see that's the thing" Goku says in a more cheerful tone. "Ever since Goten arrived, it seems that he has forgotten about his self-loathing and put him first. Then, when you three arrived and he met Pan and Goken… I don't think I've ever seen him happier."

"That's why I'm trying to make sure he spends as much time as he can with them." The full blooded saiyan continues. "It seems they give him inner peace. This is the real reason I asked you to enter the tournament Trunks. I wanted you guys to stay as long as possible to give Gohan some peace of mind. Those two are so high on his priority list that he won't do anything to hurt them, which also keeps him from hurting himself. He can only spend so much time with Goten, him being an infant that still needs his mother almost constantly, so Pan and Goken's presence is extremely important at the moment. I have a feeling that if he's around them long enough and gets enough love from them that he will finally crush the seed of self-loathing within himself."

Trunks finally understands the logic behind Goku's confrontation with him tonight. He told him this so that he allows Pan and Goken all the time they need to break Gohan's inner barrier of hate towards himself. "Well Goku, I'm glad you told me all of this. I know it must have been really hard to relive all of that. I'll make sure that Pan and Goken spend as much time with him as he needs." Trunks puts a reassuring hand on Goku's shoulder. He then smiles "Besides, I think that was the intention of all three of them anyways."

Goku finally cracks a smile for the first time since this conversation started. "Yeah I think you're right. Those three have really hit it off like they've known each other forever."

"They most certainly have," a new voice comes into the conversation at this point. Bulma walks into the room, completely unaware of the conversation that took place only hearing that last bit. "Goku, you should see them now. The scene is so adorable! Gohan really makes an excellent father."

Goku puts on his best Son grin, masking his concerns from the earlier conversation, and faces Bulma. "Well Bulma, I can't say I'm surprised. When he first heard about Goten, he was completely ecstatic, putting all of his being into working on protecting the little tyke and studying to become the best oniisan he could be. In a lot of ways, he sees Goten as a son, and I know for a fact that he puts Pan and Goken above anything else, just like Goten. That's really all anyone can ask for from a parent." He then looks at Trunks. "I think I'm going to head to the Guest Suite now with your mom Trunks. Thank you for the talk. You don't know how much it helped."

"Don't mention it Goku," Trunks replies. "I'm glad we talked."

Goku then turns back to Bulma, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Umm sorry to ask you this again since you just came from there, but do you think you could show me to the Guest Suite now?"

Bulma waves her hand dismissively and smiles at Goku. "It's no problem Goku. I actually wanted to eavesdrop on Gohan some more. Him with those two kids is just too cute to pass up."

Trunks rolls his eyes at his mother. Doesn't she have any sense of privacy?

Goku just chuckles at Bulma's antics. "Well alright then you lead the way. Goodnight Trunks!" He adds, waving to him as he follows Bulma down the hallway to the Guest Suite.

* * *

~Capsule Corporation Guest Suite~

For the rest of the night, Pan and Goken tell Gohan everything about themselves besides who their mother is. From what he heard, Gohan realizes that neither of them had any physical memory of his future counterpart; Pan was only two years old and Goken wasn't even born yet when he had died. What makes Gohan even sadder about the situation is that according to stories they've heard from Trunks, he didn't even know of Goken's existence! Gohan found it extremely sad that he didn't even know that he made such an incredible person, let alone the fact that he never got to know him. This is why this meeting him in this timeline was extremely emotional for both of them; Pan finally got to meet the daddy that she lost when she was only two years old, and Goken finally got to meet the daddy that never even knew him.

Gohan learned from the chibis that Goken never had any physical memories of his mother either, and that Pan only has a few intimate memories of her. Pan claimed that from what she remembered that her mother had the most unique set of eyes that she had ever seen and that in all of her memories that they were always filled with great love and kindness. Since she had died only a few minutes after Goken was born, Goken doesn't have the connection with his mother that Pan does.

Gohan finds out that Pan misses her mother very greatly and admits that one of the reasons that she came here was to get a chance to see her again, despite the obvious risk to their existence it would bring. Gohan sympathized with her, but told her gently that he loves her too much for her to take such a giant risk; he tells her that now that he's met them that he cannot imagine a timeline without them.

Gohan also found out about how his future counterpart died from his children. Both of them had obviously found out from Trunks. From what they heard, Gohan found out that, not surprisingly, he had died trying to protect his wife and Pan from the androids; he had gotten a distress call from his wife through their bond while training Trunks to become a super saiyan. According to Trunks, his future counterpart had knocked out Trunks before he left so that he wouldn't follow him.

He then went off to fight the androids. Since this is from Trunks' memories, the chibis had no details of the battle that took place. The only thing that they know is that he died in that battle, and when Trunks had found him, he was face down in a giant puddle in the middle of a rainstorm with Pan crying over his dead body, his wife crying by herself not too far away. Trunks had told them that he was so devastated that he had transformed into a super saiyan for the first time upon seeing the site first hand. Pan had said that she has no memory of this, but that she is still devastated every time she hears the tale of his death. Gohan had immediately felt extremely bad that he had made them tell him, but they had both said that it was fine since they wanted him to know.

Pan actually had a conscious memory of her mother's death, and the story of her death is from Pan's memories. She had never even told Goken or Trunks how her mother died since both would feel responsible, even though they aren't responsible at all. Pan's last memory of her mother was on the day Goken was born; she had gone into labor with no doctors around to assist her since the entire city was devastated; there were only a few people that had managed to survive the android attack on the city and luckily, all of them were willing to help with the delivery, even though none of them had a clue of what to do exactly. Pan remembers that she was completely terrified of the situation because she had no idea why her mother was in such great pain, but when little Goken came out, she had seen a happiness in her mother's eyes that she had never seen before. Pan also remembers being in awe of Goken's presence.

It was then that Pan started tearing up as she went through how the androids had arrived right after Goken was born. She remembers that it was like everything happened in slow motion; the androids had thrown a ki blast at the shelter they were staying in. Even though she was still extremely tired from giving birth, her mother had given Goken to her and in a desperate attempt to hide the both of them, she had them hide in a tight alcove that only they could fit into.

As they had just gotten to the location, the androids had burst into the room through the ceiling. Pan chokes up as she retells the story of how their mother had tried to fight off the androids, when they broke her neck with a roundhouse kick. Pan remembers that she was about to run out after her when she saw Goken in her arms, and because she didn't want to put him in danger, she stayed put and mourned the death of her mother from the alcove. She had told them that when she transformed into a super saiyan for the first time a year ago that this is the memory that she used.

Pan had cried for a few minutes at this point in the story, and both Gohan and Goken had gone over to her with tears in their eyes and tried to comfort her. After a while she was able to continue her recollection. She remembers how fortunate both her and Goken were when the androids had left without noticing them, and then she soon went out into the city to track down Bulma and Trunks.

She recalls how luck was on their side once again when Trunks had passed over the city they were in and found them by themselves; she remembers lying to Trunks about her mother's death, saying that she died through an unnatural disease that she had never heard of before, just so that he wouldn't blame himself for not protecting them. After that, Trunks had taken them back to Capsule Corps. where they have lived up to this day.

Both chibis then start to share stories of all of the good times they had despite the horror that came with the androids like playing and training with Trunks. After hearing the devastating stories from his two children about his future counterpart and his wife's deaths, then these cute and happy stories about themselves while they were living at Capsule Corps, Gohan becomes extremely thankful that Trunks and Bulma were around to take care of these two precious lives, the most important lives in the universe to Gohan. He makes a mental note to personally thank Trunks later for taking them in and treating them as his own.

Finally, after hearing all about the lives of his children, Gohan tells them stories of his life up to his trip to Namek. He decides that since he will be spending a whole week with them that he can space out his adventures over that time. However, he tells them about his battle with Garlic Jr. when he was only three to when he got kidnapped by his 'uncle' Raditz when he was four. He also tells them about after his battle with Raditz how he had to spend a year in the wilderness alone to prepare for another threat to the planet, and how their grandfather beat Nappa and Vegeta when they came. Both chibis were shocked to learn that Trunks' dad tried to destroy the Earth, but after Gohan explained how he's changed, they eventually came to terms with it.

Finally though, the time comes that they all must go to bed. Gohan takes Pan and Goken to their shared room and tucks them in.

"Goodnight daddy," Goken lazily yawns, obviously exhausted from the events of the day.

"Yeah, 'night daddy," Pan reiterates from the bed next to Goken.

Gohan smiles warmly at his two children he never knew he had but a few hours ago. He walks over to Pan's bed and gives her a kiss on the forehead. "Goodnight Pan." He walks over to Goken and repeats the gesture. "Goodnight Goken. I love you both more than you can imagine."

Pan and Goken feel the same way. It feels like Gohan's always been there, and they only met today! "Love you too daddy," both say simultaneously, drifting off in to the depths of unconsciousness one calls sleep. Within seconds of their eyes closing, they were out.

Gohan looks on at his two children with adoration. _Man, it feels like I've known them forever. I can definitely tell they are my kids. How could I feel so strongly for them otherwise?_ This has been the best day Gohan has ever had, despite the little 'conflict' he had trying to fight the voice in his head. _Not only was my little brother born today, who is more than I could imagine, I also got to meet my future children, who have made me feel more alive than I've ever felt. I really hope that my kids in this timeline turn out as well as those two have, although I don't think that's even possible to be as amazing as them._

Gohan sighs while shaking his head. "I'm getting ahead of myself" He softly chuckles. He then turns off the light to the room and closes the door.

As soon as Gohan leaves the room he is approached by an insanely grinning Goku. "You make an amazing dad already!" Goku beams. "I saw you interacting with those two. It seems every time I feel like I couldn't be more proud of you, you just prove me wrong."

Gohan blushes slightly that he was caught in an intimate moment with his kids. "I don't understand it dad." He finally responds. "I don't know why, but I already love them more than anything. I felt the same way about Goten the moment I found out about him too, and he's not even my kid. It's insane."

"No, it's you." Goku responds. "You just have parental instincts, even at your young age. You see Goten like a son more than a brother, and Pan and Goken _are_ your children." Goku then drops the grin and looks somewhat sad. "You are so mature for your age, it's insane."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Gohan responds, concerned with his father's sudden attitude change.

"It is to a certain extent," Goku answers. "But it just seems like you're an adult already, and you're only eleven. It's like you skipped your whole childhood and…" Goku pauses for a second before continuing. "and I feel responsible for it. I turned you into a warrior even though you hated fighting. I even put you in situations where you would need to kill…" Goku is holding back tears at this point. "I-I just… wish you could've had a childhood that you greatly deserve. I never wanted you to have to go through what you did until you were a lot older, if at all."

"Dad…" Gohan shakily responds, giving his father a reassuring hug. "It's okay… I don't resent you for putting me though what you did. I know you wanted what was best for the Earth, plus I wanted to help. I felt like it was my duty to help you since I had the power anyways... I never knew you felt this way before."

"I know. I'm sorry for this Gohan." Goku then softly chuckles. "I'm supposed to be the father here and yet, you're the one that's comforting me like _you're_ the father. This is the kind of stuff I'm talking about. You shouldn't have to do this kind of stuff when you're not even twelve yet."

Goku breaks away from his son, and looks him in the eyes. A smile reappears on his face and a gleam appears in Goku's eyes as he continues, "It still makes me so proud of you though. Not only have you become the stronger warrior, you've become a great parent as well. I know I've only seen you act as a parent for a day, but I can tell already by the way you handled both Pan and Goken, as well as Goten."

"Thanks dad," Gohan sincerely replies. "and don't worry about me growing up too fast. It may be too late for me, but you still have Goten. I will do everything in my power to make sure _he_ has a full childhood. Besides, I like being a parent. I've never been happier than I've been today after meeting Goten, Pan, and Goken. It feels so rewarding and I can live my childhood vicariously through them. Never feel bad that I didn't have a normal childhood. I don't. For all we know, everything turned out for the best this way. You taught me that a long time ago."

Goku is once again stunned at his son's maturity level. He really deals with everything like an adult would. "Once again son, you amaze me. Your words are truly wise. I promise to never feel bad about your childhood again. Thank you Gohan, you have no clue how much weight you've taken off my shoulders tonight." He embraces his son and they stay that way for a couple of moments. He then lets go and tiredly addresses his son once again. "We should probably get to bed. How 'bout it son?"

Gohan only responds with a nod before following his father down the hall to the room they're sharing. His mind is still going through everything Goku had said. He never realized that his dad had felt that strongly about him having a normal childhood; his mother perhaps, but never his dad. Still, the somber conversation he had with his father doesn't ruin the happiness that meeting his kids brought him. All he has to do is think about them and his worries melt away.

For the first time since his ascension to the second level of super sayian and discovery of his inner voice, Gohan doesn't have any nightmares that plague his dreams.

* * *

Translations:

chibi- cute kid, dwarf

ki- energy


	6. A Gathering for a Tournament

**A/N: I would like to take the time here to personally thank everyone who has put up with my writing up to this point. It really makes writing this feel worthwhile and I do appreciate every comment and view of the story. **

**The week has been hectic, which makes me glad that I decided to wait until I had ten chapters done before I posted it. That way I don't screw you guys over on particularly busy weeks. I have another hectic, yet exciting week coming up, but I will still be posting on Friday.**

**About this chapter, the day of the tournament finally arrives. In these upcoming chapters, your feedback if increasingly important, so in order to help me inprove the quality of product I'm producing, comments and PMs will be essential. That also goes for past chapters as I can still edit and update those as well so let me know if anything doesn't make sense or seems completely out of line. **

**Have a good read! **

"dialogue"

_thoughts_

_"telepathic communication"_

~change in setting~

*action*

**flashback**

* * *

Chapter 5: A Gathering for a Tournament

~Mount Paoz, 439 Mountain District, Age 768~

Chichi was released from the Medical Ward two days after Goten was born. She immediately demanded that they return to Mount Paoz in order to introduce Goten to his new living environment. Of course Chichi's real motives were that she just wanted to get out of the city.

Pan and Goken both went with the rest of the Sons back to Mount Paoz. They felt like they needed to spend as much time with Gohan as they could, and Gohan couldn't be happier with the arrangement. He really wanted to keep his children as close as possible since they bring him so much comfort and peace.

And so, the next few days are spent with Gohan taking Pan and Goken all over the 439 Mountain District. Surprisingly, Chichi allows him to put his studies on hiatus for the time being in order for him to spend time with Pan and Goken. Gohan takes them to the private lake that only he and his dad know about and takes them fishing. He also takes them exploring all around the mountains and to places he frequently went when he was stranded in the area back when he was four. And of course he trains them a little with his father, although only for a few hours.

His favorite activity with his kids though is just lying around and talking with them. He finds out so much about them that way, and continues to find out how much like him they actually are. Gohan found out that Pan is just like him in the brains department: she is already at a college level in most core subjects despite being only eleven, which absolutely delights Chichi. He also found out while training her that she fights with an almost identical strategy, using superior speed rather than strength in a more defensive style.

As for Goken, despite the fact he looks almost identical to his grandfather, he acts in a very similar manner as his father. His attention to detail is very high, much like his father, and he thinks well on his feet. He also shares his father's intelligence and has a special knack for battle. He learns techniques very quickly and despite his young age, he already has a very good grip on his ki and ki manipulation.

However, one thing he found out about Goken that he can't figure out where it came from is his skepticism. He seems to be skeptical about many things that Gohan himself just believes right away. The first day he met him was only the beginning of the endless questions that he would ask. At first Gohan just thought it was geniune curiosity that comes with every eight year old; however, Gohan quickly found out that his son would always doubt the answer. Only after reassuring the boy of the answer again would he finally accept it as truth.

Pan doesn't seem to have this trait and is always trying to stop her brother's skeptical ways. This leads to some arguments between the two chibis, which Gohan would always have to end. He doesn't like this part of being a parent, but he realizes that it is very necessary.

An example of this is when Gohan showed them both the nimbus cloud for the first time. Goken wanted to know how he could ride a cloud as it would normally be physically impossible. Gohan had explained that the cloud was a magic cloud that allowed anyone pure of heart to ride on it. Goken of course, was skeptical about whether that was true or not and Pan got fed up. She tried talking sense into her brother which ended up in a back and forth argument until finally, Gohan had picked up his son and put him on the cloud to prove his point, at which time Goken finally believed him and apologized for ever doubting him.

Gohan had learned through their arguments that both of his kids are also incredibly stubborn. Neither side would ever give into the other during an argument. He also noted though that if either of them had made up their mind about something, they would stick to it no matter what. He figures that stubbornness skipped a generation and they inherited theirs from their grandmother.

He also noticed that both Pan and Goken are very good at reading emotions, even if it's covered up fairly well; they can also tell a lie from a truth. There was one time that Gohan had a lapse of depression from his struggles with his inner voice when he thought he was alone. Goken was there and immediately caught on to the gist that something was wrong, even though Gohan did a very good job at hiding it.

But most of all, they display their father's caring, loving nature. Whenever they can sense sadness, they immediately offer comfort. Whenever they sense someone in trouble, they immediately want to help. One day ago, there was a little girl that fell into a river and couldn't get herself out. Pan had heard her screams with her enhanced saiyan hearing and flew over to the area and saved the little girl, who was very grateful. Goken had also brought Gohan a few animals that were injured after a small forest fire, who then in turn delivered them to Bulma's dad, Dr. Briefs, for treatment a few days back. Yep, it seems that they've inherited the 'hero gene' from their father.

At the same time, Gohan was learning how to be a good father. Whenever something happened to either Pan or Goken, he would always know just what to do. The first night at Capsule Corps. Pan had nightmares of her crying over Mirai Gohan's dead body, trembling in fear as a storm poured rain on her small, shaking form. He softly and gently soothed her until she calmed down, and then allowed her to sleep with him the rest of the night. Of course Goken got jealous of his sister and wanted to spend the night with Gohan too, so he allowed him to as well.

However, these nightmares kept on reoccurring, and by the third night in a row Gohan wanted to know why. She had told him that they only have been happening when she came to the past and have never happened before. Having studied psychology thoroughly over the last couple of months, Gohan had a theory of why this was happening now all of a sudden when it hasn't happened before. Apparently, even though she doesn't have a conscious memory of it, the event was still stored in her unconscious part of the mind all of these years. Gohan figured that meeting him has caused the memory to resurface in her dreams.

He decided to help her out with a technique that Piccolo had taught him whenever he had reoccurring nightmares. He would make her focus on the content of the nightmare, making her relive the nightmare. This would allow her to bring out all of the negative ki that is the cause of the nightmare, and focus it into a ball. When this happened, Gohan would take the ball of negative ki and replace it with his own ki by holding her hands. This would allow him to take the negative ki and dissipate it while giving her the positive ki she needs to replace it. This turned out to work wonders for Pan. Her nightmares of Mirai Gohan's death were replaced with dreams about the good times she had with him. Pan could finally get a good night's sleep once again, which brought warmth to Gohan's heart.

The days go by, and finally it's the day before the tournament. Gohan is currently out by the private lake with Pan and Goken, relaxing before the big tournament in a routine he learned from his dad just before the Cell Games. He is just lying in the grass, staring at the clouds when he asks his kids the all-important question.

"So guys, you want to enter the tournament?" He inquires. He sits up to see their reactions and a smirk comes on his face at the surprised look on their faces.

"You mean you'd let us enter?" Goken counters. "Even after all of the risks Auntie Bulma and Uncle Trunks talked about?"

Gohan couldn't help the smile that found his way to his face. He could tell both of them really wanted to enter the way they talked about the tournament all week, plus the surprised but hopeful look on their faces says everything. "Yes I know the risks, but I also know how much both of you want to enter and I figure that your happiness is worth the risk. I'm willing to allow you to enter if you guys both want to."

The smiles that came across both Pan and Goken's faces could have lit up the darkest of rooms, melting Gohan's heart in the process. They both charge the still sitting Gohan and knock him onto his back in a bone-crushing hug. "Thank you daddy!" they both say, pure excitement lacing their voices.

Gohan returns the embrace and continues to enjoy the moment. This is what he lives for. This is the reason why he doesn't mind that he never had a real childhood. He loves being able to bring pure joy to the ones he loves, whether it is his kids from the future or his little brother Goten. As long as he has someone to care for and love, he would never change a thing.

After a few minutes in this situation, Gohan finally beckons his kids off of him so he can sit up. "I'm glad to see you guys are happy." Gohan finally says. His tone then turns serious. "Alright since you guys are going to compete in the tournament, we need to minimize those risks we were talking about earlier so there are a few ground rules we need to cover." He waits for his kids' undivided attention before listing the ground rules.

"Number one: we're going to be in public so as long as we're there at the tournament you guys need to address me as 'Gohan' instead of 'daddy.' It would look pretty odd for a girl that looks older than me and a boy almost as big as me to be calling me daddy. We're going to be playing the roles of siblings instead, so I guess you can call me 'niisan' too if you'd prefer. I've already discussed this with grandma and grandpa and they agreed this would be the best way, so you should address them as 'mom' and 'dad.' You two look so much like them anyways that nobody would question it." Pan and Goken nod in understanding of the rule, although they would rather call Gohan daddy.

"Number two: this is a pretty big tournament and as such, there's probably going to be many people that are fans of martial arts there. Now even though I have no clue who your mom is, I'm pretty sure she would have to have at least a general interest of martial arts in order to marry into this family, so there's a good chance she will be there. If you guys run into her, you cannot reveal your true identity, despite how much you'd want to. I probably will be with you guys anyways so you don't want to give anything away. I know you guys never really met your mom either, but I know you also know the risk as well. Plus since she's not in the group as of yet she probably wouldn't believe you guys anyways."

"Auntie Bulma said the same thing before we came back here with Uncle Trunks." Goken interrupts. "We know that one already."

"Okay then I shouldn't have to worry about that then." Gohan happily replies. "Anyways, Number three: When fighting the human fighters in the first round, hold back. We don't want you guys seriously hurting someone or accidentally killing someone. You guys are powerful enough to get through the first round without a problem at less than 1% your maximum power, and even that may be a little too much. Once you get past the first round though, you'll be paired with one of the Z-fighters so you don't need to hold back for those fights." The two younger Son's expressions dropped a little at the mention of holding back, but quickly brightened up after he said that they didn't need to against the Z-fighters, so they nodded in understanding.

"Okay and number four, the most important rule out of them all: take advantage of this experience, learn from it, and most importantly have fun. This is probably the only time for a really long time that you will be able to participate in a tournament where you can test out your skills against worthy opponents, so cherish it. I would be a failure as a dad if I didn't let you enjoy this to the fullest so do this one for me okay?" Gohan grins at the enthusiastic nods he gets from both his kids. He ruffles their hair and then continues. "Alright, now that you know the conditions for your participation, let's catch some fish and go back to the house. You don't want to be late for your grandma's dinner do ya?"

Both chibis' eyes widen as they shake their heads and quickly jump in the lake in order to catch some fish. Gohan laughs at their reaction. Even though she never used the frying pan of Armageddon on her grandchildren, she's used it plenty of times on Gohan in front of them. In fact, Chichi spoils Pan and Goken silly, giving them extra sweets and dinner, and whenever they do something wrong, she blames it on Gohan for not keeping a constant watch on his kids. After thinking this over, he wonders why they react so strongly to this threat if they know it won't affect them in the least. Gohan shrugs off the thought and jumps in himself to get some fish of his own. He knows the threat applies to him.

* * *

~Main Plaza, Intergalactic Tournament Grounds, Yahoi Island~

At last, the day of the Intergalactic Tournament has arrived! The Z-fighters all had agreed to meet up at Capsule Corps. and then travel to the tournament together. The whole Z-gang was there, including those not fighting. It was at that time that Pan and Goken were introduced to the rest of the Z-fighters. All of them were shocked at the resemblance to Goku and Chichi and were surprised to find out that they were competing in the tournament. After a good scan of their ki though, their trepidations of them competing were quelled.

After everyone was packed into the plane, (there were seventeen people total) they all started off to the island. While on the plane, everyone discussed the tournament and how to set up the matches. Thanks to a little digging (and a few pay-offs) by Bulma, they found out that the tournament will be split into eight blocks, and they are expecting at least 400 participants. They also found out that these blocks will be battled in battle royal style until there is one person standing. This means that there will be expected to be at least 50 people fighting at once in each block.

They also found out that the participants in certain blocks will be selected by a number draw, just like the Budokai. They decided that the fighters that are going to enter are Gohan, Goku, Vegeta, Mirai Trunks, Piccolo, Krillin, Pan, and Goken. Since there are eight Z-fighters participating in the tournament, they decided that Chaiotzu would use his telekinesis powers to make sure that the Z-fighters are all in a different block, assuring a good opponent in the semifinals. This pleased Vegeta since he didn't want to waste his talents on "some weakling human buffoon" later on and that he wanted to have a good finals match. This pleased the other Z-fighters as well since they didn't want to face each other in a battle royal.

Another thing they found is that the 'intergalactic fighters' they would face in the finals before Hercule would just be human heavyweight champions dressed up as fighters. This particular piece of classified information was, although expected, very disappointing to the Z-fighters. They know of the existence of aliens (heck half of the Z-fighters are aliens!) so there was a chance that maybe they found some actual aliens to fight. Of course a thorough ki scan showed that there were none. And so, the 'real' finals would take place in the semifinals sadly.

After traveling halfway across the world, the Z-gang finally ends up at Yahoi Island where the tournament is taking place. Yahoi Island is a very isolated island that normally receives very little attention. One can tell due to the lack of airplane traffic control. There is very limited commercialization. In fact, the only commercialization is on the west shoreline where the tournament platforms are suspended above the water. There are eight unique platforms where each separate block will fight their battle royal. On the shore of the island are thousands of suspended bleachers. The grandstands could easily fit over a million people, making for a very giant audience. Finally, behind the grandstands until about ten miles inland, there are various hotels and malls, as well as various vendors.

The sheer amount of people at the event stuns Pan and Goken. They've never seen so many people before, let alone in the same place! "Wow daddy, there are _so _many people!" Goken comments in awe.

"Goken, remember either 'niisan' or 'Gohan'," Gohan reprimands his son. _I have a feeling that rule is going to be broken a lot. _He silently thinks._ I really hope we don't run into their mother. Who knows if they'll be able to control themselves from calling her 'mommy.'_

"Oops, sorry!" Goken quickly apologizes, covering his mouth with his hand.

"It's okay; just try not to slip up again okay s-otouto?" Gohan quickly corrects his mishap. _Then again, this will be hard for me as well not to call him 'son.'_

"Say, _niisan_," Pan puts unnecessary emphasis on the word 'niisan,' causing Gohan to mentally slap his forehead. "Where do we sign up for the tournament?"

"The sign up booth is over there by the sushi bar," Piccolo bluntly answers for Gohan. "And honestly Gohan, if you guys plan to keep up that little charade you came up with you're going to have to do a much better job than that." With that comment, he walks off towards the sign up booth.

"You know guys he's right." Gohan quietly tells his two kids while everyone else heads for the sign up booth. "We need to make this a little more believable. We can't have any more slip-ups. Got it?"

"Right!" they respond obediently.

"Okay then," Gohan says, half chuckling at how they gave their response like sergeants in the army, "let's go sign up before it closes."

All three quickly catch up to the others and wait in line to sign up for the tournament. By the time they get to the booth, the line is still thirty people long, which surprises Gohan since there is only ten minutes left to sign up for the tournament. It seems many more people than anticipated are signing up for this tournament. Finally, it gets to the point where Gohan is next.

"Sorry kid, the sushi bar is to the left if you're looking for it," the monk running the booth says in a bored tone. One can tell he's been doing this all day.

"Actually sir, the three of us are entering," Gohan responds politely with an innocent grin, putting an arm around both Pan and Goken.

The monk's eyes widen at that statement. "How old are you kids?"

Gohan puts on another innocent grin. "Well I'm eleven, so is my imoutosan here," he gestures to Pan, "and my otoutosan here is eight," he continues, gesturing to Goken, both of them also grinning innocently at the monk.

"I'm sorry but I don't think I can allow kids to participate in the tournament," the monk says in a tone that didn't sound at all apologetic. "It's too dangerous–"

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT'S TOO DANGEROUS?!" a screech from behind the chibi trio interrupts. The monk just did something he will forever regret: make the one and only Chichi Son angry. "Are you saying that my kids couldn't hold their own in this pathetic tournament? HUH!?"

The monk jumps at the sudden outburst by the Son matron and now sports a look of pure fear. "T-these kids a-are yo-yo-yours?"

"You _bet_ they are!" she furiously replies, making the monk cower in fear behind his desk. "Take one good look at my daughter and say she isn't mine! Now sign them up right now! They'll be fine!" Chichi then does a complete 180 and gives a soft smile to the chibi trio. "I'll meet you three by the sushi bar when you're done," she says in a sweet tone. She then gives a final glare to the monk at the booth before marching off.

After Chichi leaves, the monk crawls back up from his hiding place and addresses Gohan once more, who is trying with all of his might to hold in his laughs. "N-names?" he nervously asks.

Gohan gives the monk a big grin before answering. "I'm Gohan Son. My imoutosan is Pan Son, and my otoutosan is Goken Son."

The monk weakly nods, fearing that the Son matron is still lurking somewhere in the background ready to pounce. "Alright, there's a number draw to determine which platform you will fight on in the fighter's lobby in forty-five minutes. Don't be late or you will be disqualified."

All three just nod in understanding before heading off towards the sushi bar.

"Wow, I didn't know grandma could be so scary," Goken whispers soft enough where no one but Gohan and Pan can hear him.

"Oh trust me, that was nothing," Gohan comments. "Just wait until she brings out her frying pan." Gohan shivers at the thought, causing Pan and Goken to burst out laughing.

Gohan looks at them in faux anger. "Hey you two wouldn't be laughing if you had to deal with that!"

"Deal with what?" asks a very familiar voice from just ahead of the trio. Gohan looks up to find his mother glaring at him as if she knows exactly _what _he means. He also notices that she is carrying his baby brother, who once again is extending his arms towards Gohan, softly whimpering, indicating that he wants to be held by him. Chichi looks at Goten and sighs before putting on a smile. "Here, it looks like he wants you again."

Gohan gives a classic Son grin as he takes his little brother. "Hey Goten. How's it going buddy?" Goten merely coos back at Gohan, returning the famous grin before snuggling up against his chest. Gohan rubs his head against Goten's before returning his attention to his kids. "Hey guys, you hungry? We still have forty minutes before the draw if you guys want to get something to eat. I think I'm gonna stay here and play with Goten for a little while."

"Okay niisan, we'll be over at the Sugoi Hibachi over there." Pan responds, pointing to the vendor a little ways down the road. "Come on Goken!"

Gohan gives Pan and Goken a wave as they scamper off in the distance before turning his attention back to his little brother. He smiles at his brother, looking at him adoringly while the little tyke wiggles around in Gohan's arms trying to make himself comfortable. It seems that out of everyone, Goten feels the most comfortable with his brother for some reason. For the past week ever since he's been home, every time Gohan is around, he wants to be held by him.

Even stranger though, it seems like even when Gohan is in the vicinity, Goten makes gestures to communicate that he's near, even if Gohan isn't present in the same room. It's like Goten can sense Gohan, but _only _Gohan. This is very impressive since he is only a week old, yet puzzling since even though Gohan is his brother, he seems to be extremely attached to him. At the same time, one can't help but notice the gleam in Gohan's eyes every time someone even mentions the little tyke. The reason for this unique bond between the two brothers is unknown to anyone, but it has not gone unnoticed.

Chichi is looking upon the scene between her two sons when Goku comes up from behind and puts a hand on her shoulder, also looking at the two brothers. "Look at them Goku! I can practically feel the love radiating off of them," the Son matron comments, smiling at her two boys.

"Yeah no kidding," Goku responds cheerfully. He smiles as they watch Gohan toss Goten in the air playfully only to catch him again, making the little chibi incessantly giggle in delight. "I knew they would be close, but man! Do you notice how Goten can practically sense Gohan every time he's near by? I've never heard of a baby being able to sense ki before."

"Yes I've noticed Goku," Chichi replies to her husband. "It's hard not to with all of that whimpering he does." She turns around to face her husband and her expression changes to one of concern. "I know they're brothers, but doesn't it seem odd how close they are? I'm just worried about what would happen when Gohan eventually grows up. He is eleven years older than him you know."

"You worry too much Chi." Goku reassures his wife, pulling her into a hug. "Relax! I think it's adorable how close they are, plus you know that Gohan's going to be the best oniisan that he can be. I wouldn't worry too much about the future Chi. Even when Gohan grows up, I'm positive that he will still be around for Goten."

Chichi sighs before responding. "I know. You're right Goku." She puts on a smile and gives Goku a quick kiss, then turns back around just in time to see Goten drift off to a blissful slumber in his brother's arms. Gohan, completely oblivious to the fact that he's being watched by his parents, leans down and gently plants a kiss on Goten's forehead as he watches him sleep, smiling softly the entire time.

"Yep, everything will be fine Chichi," Goku comments, now grinning like a madman.

* * *

Pan and Goken scurry away towards the vendor of their choice, thinking about all of the delicious food that they will be able to eat. Goken is so ingrained in thought of eating some scrumptious calamari tempura that he runs right into a young girl, making her fall over.

"Goken!" Pan scolds her brother. "Watch where you're going! Now help her up!"

Goken reaches down towards the girl, apologizing the whole time while rubbing the back of his head in the classic Son gesture.

"Pardon my otoutosan, he doesn–" she cuts off her sentence as she gets a good look at the girl that she knocked over.

The girl looks to be about Pan's age, perhaps a little younger. She has long black hair that is tied in pigtails on either side of her face. Her eyes are a vibrant amethyst color and she is wearing a long, baggy white tee-shirt with short, black biker shorts. Her figure is really lean, yet sturdy. "Hey it's no big deal," she answers nonchalantly, brushing herself off. "I just want to know what he's made of. It felt like I ran into a brick wall!" she starts to chuckle but stops as she looks at Pan and sees that she has a far-away look in her eyes, looking like she's on the verge of tears. "Hey are you okay?" the girl asks, concerned.

Pan just continues to look like she's about to cry. Goken also notices this from her sister and shares the girl's concern. "Hey Pan, let's go get our food," he says, concern lacing his voice. He then takes Pan's arm and leads her towards the vendor they were going to go to. "Sorry about knocking you over!" Goken yells over his shoulder.

The girl stares off at the two for a moment before shrugging it off. _She must have been one of my father's fans and recognized me as his daughter, _she silently thinks. _Still though, both of them looked really familiar. I wonder where I've seen them before? _

Meanwhile Pan finally comes out of her trance after being dragged a good distance by her brother. "Welcome back Pan," Goken sarcastically says. "What happened back there? You looked like you were gonna cry or something."

"Goken, do you realize who that was?" Pan cries, shock lacing her voice. She then brings Goken closer and whispers, "That was our mother!"

Goken's eyes grow to the size of dinner plates after that comment. "Are you serious?" he asks, wondering why he didn't see it.

"Of course!" Pan retorts.

"How do you know for sure?" Goken demands, knowing full well that if that girl was actually their mother that Pan would have a good reason to believe it.

"She's the only one with those kinds of eyes." Pan immediately responds, looking over to that girl's retreating form. She then turns back to Goken. "I hardly remember mom, but those were the same eyes without a question."

Upon hearing confirmation from Pan, Goken immediately makes a move to catch the girl, but is grabbed by Pan before he can move too far. "Goken! Remember the rules!" Pan hisses at her brother. "We cannot tell her who we are! We might not be born if we do!" Pan then sighs and lets go of her brother who stopped struggling from her grip, shaking her head. "Maybe it was a good thing you didn't recognize her. Whatever, I'm starving, let's eat!"

At the mention of food, Goken immediately perks up and rushes over to the food vendor. Pan chuckles at her brother's antics, looking back at the retreating form of her chibi mother once more before running after him.

* * *

~A Private Suite, Intergalactic Tournament Grounds~

Meanwhile, the girl that Pan claims was her and Goken's mother continues to ponder over why those two looked so familiar. _I swear I've seen them before. That boy especially. But where? _She goes over possible scenarios in her head where she could have seen them. _Maybe one of their parents are famous or something. They must have famous martial artists as parents. But who? _

She continues to ponder this thought while walking back to her father's private suite. "Hey sweet pea!" a rather gruff voice cuts off her thoughts. "How was your lunch?"

"Well dad," she answers, a bit unnerved that he cut off her thought process. "It was mediocre at best. That place really needs to learn what sushi is. That was probably one of the worst California rolls I've ever had!"

"What was the name of the place sweet pea?" her father inquires, anger lacing his voice. How dare they serve _his_ daughter bad food! "I'll put them out of business! All I have to do is put out a bad word and people will flee from that place faster than if it were swarmed by bees, BWAHAHAAHA!"

The girl just slaps her forehead in embarrassment at her father's antics. "I know you could dad. You are the world champ after all–"

"You bet I am!" her father retorts defensively, making his daughter raise an eyebrow in suspicion. "You hear that Goku?! I'm the world champ!"

As her dad continues on his rant, the girl realizes where she saw that boy before. _That boy looked exactly like Goku Son at his fist Budokai! How did I not see it?! Now that I think about it, that girl looked just like Chichi Gyumao, the Ox King's daughter, who also made it to the finals of the 23__rd__ Budokai. Didn't Goku Son propose to her at that tournament? Makes sense that those two are the son and daughter of Goku and Chichi._ Satisfied at her conclusion, she starts preparing for the tournament.

"Mr. Satan!" One of the butlers in the suite interrupts. "The number draw is in five minutes. You are supposed to give the opening speech."

"Thanks Lawrence!" Hercule responds "I almost forgot. Come on Videl! We need to get going!"

The girl nods and follows her father to the fighter's lounge where the numbers for the tournament are getting drawn.

* * *

~Fighter's Lounge, Intergalactic Tournament Grounds~

"PAN! GOKEN!" Gohan is yelling for his kids who still haven't returned from lunch. He can sense them close by so he knows they're not in any danger, but he, like any father, worries about his kids. "Hurry up! The number draw is in five minutes!"

After about ten seconds, Pan and Goken come into view. Gohan notices the far-off look in both of their eyes, but decides to keep it to himself for now. "There you guys are. Come on let's hurry, they're starting soon."

They both just quietly nod and follow the other Z-fighters towards the fighter's lounge. Gohan notices this as well and realizes something is up. Normally, they would be bouncing around in excitement for the tournament they desperately wanted to fight in to start. Again, he decides to keep a mental note and ask them later as he starts to follow everyone else to the fighter's lounge.

The fighter's lounge is packed to the brim. Gohan figures that the prediction of at least 400 contestants is quite an underestimation. It seems like every martial artist wants to show up the champ as it appears that 600 is a closer number to how many participants there are here. While this is the case, the lounge seems like it was built for 450 people, making everyone very 'cozy' in the lounge. As all of these thoughts are going through Gohan's head, a monk steps out from behind the curtain on the stage in the front of the room.

"Attention all participants!" the monk addresses over a microphone. "Welcome to the Intergalactic Tournament. Thank you all for coming. There are a total of 616 competitors in today's tournament. Now that is quite the turnout, making for 77 competitors in each battle royal block! With numbers like that anything can happen! Now before we have the number draw to determine where you will fight, we have some opening words from the world savior, Hercule Satan!"

There's a roar from the crowd at the mention of Hercule, which also draws the attention of two particular chibis. Hercule comes out from behind the curtain wearing his normal brown gi and cape, with the championship belt. _So that's Grandpa Satan! _Pan thinks excitedly. Hercule does a few poses to the crowd. He then takes off his championship belt and holds it up to the crowd with a loud "YEAH!" initiating another roar from the crowd. The Z-fighters besides Pan and Goken all slap their foreheads at the guy's stupidity.

Pan looks over to Goken, and notices that he is watching Hercule intently, taking in everything he does. She can understand his behavior since neither of them had ever met their grandfather on their mother's side before; in fact, they've never met _either_ of their grandfathers before. In the Mirai Timeline, Hercule had died distracting the androids from attacking some innocent bystanders. While he might of gotten killed that day, he actually saved the lives of everyone else in that area by distracting the androids long enough to allow them to escape. He really was a hero!

Pan looks back at this timeline's version though and she can't believe that he is the same man. Sure, he's a martial arts master in this timeline as well, but he used the title to his advantage and used it as a believable excuse to take credit for her daddy's work! She can't help but feel angry with the man for lying to everyone and using his fame for personal gain. Uncle Trunks had warned her and Goken privately on the plane about what he had done, but they couldn't believe that the same man that basically selflessly sacrificed his life in order to save hundreds of people would not only take their daddy's credit for beating Cell, but use it for personal gain!

Pan continues to look towards the stage, not understanding why her grandfather is doing all of these poses, but still can't believe why the crowd continues to cheer him on. _He sure knows how to milk a crowd!_ she silently admits, shaking her head at his antics._  
_

Finally, after more poses and "yeahs" from the 'world champ,' the buffoon finally starts his speech. "Thank you my loyal fans! Now let's get down to business. Now as you know, the winner of this competition gets to fight me for the prize money. Now I hope you don't get too discouraged when you fail to beat me, but really just try to focus on doing the best you can. After all I'm the one who…"

As Hercule continues to rant on about himself and how he stole his credit, Gohan ignores the poser and looks around the room to see if he can find anyone he recognizes. He looks to one of the high windows and smiles as he spots Chiaotzu looking in through the highest window. He knows that Chiaotzu is going to fix the tournament so that the Z-fighters don't fight each other in the first round.

Gohan looks away from the window and back around the crowd. He immediately notices a familiar blond woman with icy blue eyes. He recognizes her as Android Eighteen. Gohan has to wonder why she would show up at this tournament. He contemplates pointing her out to Krillin when he realizes something: to Pan and Goken, Android Eighteen is a hated mortal enemy. He wonders if that is why they looked so out of it when they came back from lunch.

_Maybe they ran into her on their way or something. _ He immediately checks on his children to see if they noticed her as well and finds that they are both transfixed on Hercule for some odd reason. Gohan sighs in relief that they haven't seen her yet. _That could get ugly if they did. _Gohan mentally notes.

Gohan continues his scan of the room and spots that same raven haired girl that he saw on TV standing next to Hercule. He notes that she also looks quite bored, unlike the vast majority of people in the room who are drinking up every word Hercule is saying. _That has to be his daughter._ Gohan mentally reasons. _She must listen to this sort of thing all of the time. One thing's for sure she definitely gets her looks from her mother._

"…and so, I wish you all good luck in the tournament! Like I said before miracles can happen BWAHAHAAHA!" Hercule takes a moment to calm down from his stupid laugh and continues. "Now let's get it on!" he gives the crowd two victory signs as he walks off the stage, initiating more cheers and roars from the crowd.

The monk then steps back up on the stage and continues. "All right, now everyone line up for the number draw. You will receive a number one through eight. Whatever number you receive is the platform you will fight on."

And so, the Z-fighters all line up together to make it easier on Chiaotzu and thanks to Vegeta's impatience and display of power to an unwise human who thought he could challenge him, the Z-fighters got to the front to the line. The Z-fighters got their numbers as such: Gohan #3, Goku #2, Vegeta #1, Piccolo #5, Trunks #7, Krillin #8, Pan #4 and Goken #6. They then stay and wait for everyone else to draw as a certain name catches everyone's attention.

"Videl Satan sir," the raven haired girl says to the monk as she picks her number. "and I got… number three"

Vegeta bursts out laughing after hearing what block Videl is in. "HAHA Kakarot's brat got stuck with that spawn of Satan! This is too rich!" he then continues to laugh with no signs of stopping soon. Gohan just shrugs it off as no big deal, while both Pan and Goken's eyes widen at that statement. _Mommy's going to fight daddy!_ Pan silently comments. The all famous Son grin slowly appears on her face. _I can't believe it!_ She then takes a quick look at Goken and he gives her an excited smile, showing her that he realized what she did as well.

Pan and Goken huddle together and eventually run off after telling Gohan that they are going to tell Chichi which platforms they are fighting on. Everyone else continues to stick around as to see if anyone else interesting pops up. Eventually, another fighter catches everyone's interest.

"Juuhachi," a bland female voice says.

"…Is that really your name?" the monk with the clipboard asks.

The blond woman gives the monk a glare before responding in an annoyed voice "Yes that's my name. Now let me draw a number already!" She then reaches in the box and pulls out a number. "Now I'm number six," she scoffs as she walks away.

Gohan gulps. _Oh no! She's in Goken's block! I really hope that he can control himself. I know he has the power to beat her, but I hope he doesn't take it too far. _Gohan had learned from the training that he did with Goken as well as some of the stubborn arguments he's been a part of that the boy had inherited his explosive temper. Gohan realizes that he's not the only one that has this concern as he notices a worried look on Trunks' face as well.

As the number draw comes to a close, the tournament is now all set up and ready to go. There appears to be some interesting match ups in the battle royals. Let the tournament begin!

* * *

Translations:

chibi- cute kid, dwarf

niisan- older brother (informal)

imoutosan- younger sister (formal)

otoutosan- younger brother (formal)

otouto- younger brother (informal)

ki- energy


	7. The Prelims

**A/N: Hey hey! It's been one heck of a week, but it's finally Friday. As promised, here's another update. **

**The tournament's about to get underway! How exciting! Per usual feedback is appreciated and essential.**

**Now, on with the story! (Shortest A/N yet. Shows you how tired I am lol)**

"dialogue"

_thoughts_

_"telepathic communication"_

~change in setting~

*action*

**flashback**

* * *

Chapter 6: The Prelims

~Intergalactic Tournament Fighting Platforms, Yahoi Island, Age 768~

All of the numbers for the Intergalactic Tournament have been drawn and now the Tournament is underway. With 77 people fighting all at once on each platform, who knows what can happen right? …Not quite.

All of the Z-fighters are having a very easy time in their respective blocks. They are clearly overpowering their opponents, who are all normal human fighters. Let's take a look at some of these platforms shall we?

Platform #1 consists of a metal circle suspended high above the water. The platform is suspended on some sort of hydraulics, adding an extra element to the fights. Vegeta seems to not notice however as he continues to punch and kick the unfortunate fighters off the platform with a very bored expression on his face in his typical arrogant manner. Eventually, after Vegeta eliminates twenty of the competitors, they all realize that their only chance is to gang up on Vegeta, so that's what they attempt to do. Of course Vegeta being Vegeta, just crouches down and then raises his hands towards the sky, blowing all of the remaining fighters off of the platform with his ki alone.

"Hmph," the Saiyan Prince grunts. "What a waste of my time."

Meanwhile on platform #2, Goku is being a little gentler on his opponents, yet he is still overpowering everyone very easily. His platform is a large metal platform that comes off of the island. It has a large tower in the middle of it, which he accidentally punches one of the other fighters through, breaking it in the process. He quickly dashes over to the tumbling tower and catches it before it falls on any stray competitors and tosses it safely to the side like it was nothing. The crowd watching the fight is stunned at how he was able to pick up that huge tower so easily like it was nothing, and some of the fighters on his platform upon seeing this just give up and jump off the platform. Eventually, Goku battles it out and knocks the last guy off of the platform, advancing him to the semi-finals.

On platform #3, Gohan finds himself in an interesting predicament. It seems that all of the fighters are teaming up against Videl Satan, leaving Gohan to knock off the stragglers. Everyone's so focused on Videl that he hardly has to try to defend himself. He also notices that despite being outnumbered, Videl is easily disposing of her competition. _She's an impressive fighter, nothing like her father. _Gohan silently comments. _This could be fun after all. _

Videl continues to dispose of her competition as Gohan quietly picks off the stragglers. Eventually, it comes down to the two preteens.

"Wow another kid in the tournament!" Videl comments, surprised that another kid even entered, let alone made it this far into the tournament.

"Yeah, I know a surprise right?" Gohan responds, scratching the back of his head. Despite the fact that he can beat her easily, Gohan is nervous for some reason. _What's wrong with me? Why am I so nervous? Is it because she's a girl? Common Gohan focus!_

"Yeah…" Videl answers. She takes a good look at the boy standing in front of her and her eyes widen. _Wow he's cute! Whoa! Did I just say that? Calm down Videl. He's the enemy! Yes you can rant on about his perfect face and his muscular, god-like body and those dark shining onyx eyes later. Whoa! I can't believe I'm ranting about a boy! This is the first time I've seen him for crying out loud! Now that I think about it though, he looks awfully familiar. _"What's your name kid?" she asks, trying to hide a blush that found its way to her face while thinking about him.

"Gohan Son," Gohan replies shyly.

"Son?" she asks. "Are you by chance related to Goku Son?"

"Y-yes," He stutters, wondering why all of a sudden he's so nervous. "He's my father."

_Aha! I knew I recognized him! Now to see if my hypothesis from earlier is true. _"I see, so you're the kid of a former champion as well! Say do you happen to have an oneesan and an otoutosan?" she inquires the demi-saiyan.

Gohan was about to respond that he only had a brother when he realized that he's supposed to pretend he's siblings with Pan and Goken as well. "Well I don't have an oneesan, although I do have an imoutosan that does look older even though she's a few months younger than me. Her name is Pan. I also have two otoutosans. One's eight, he's named Goken and my other one, Goten, is only a week old. Pan and Goken are also competing in this tourney in fact."

Videl's eyes widen at that last comment. "Wow for real?!" Gohan nods his head in confirmation. _Wow they must be good if they're competing as well. My Dende! _She then internally debates whether or not those two are the same kids she ran into. _Now that I think about it, that girl did yell "Goken" when he knocked me over and she did say that he was her otoutosan._

Suddenly, she realizes that Gohan has been staring at her the entire time. Blushing slightly, she realizes that she should explain why she asked in the first place. "I think I ran into both of them when I was coming back from lunch. Your brother ran me over, but he helped me up. Then your sister seemed out of it and your brother dragged her away. I was wondering if they were alright, but I guess the fact that they are currently competing answers that question hehe."

Gohan however suddenly becomes worried. _Oh no! They must have run into Android Eighteen on their way to lunch. They must have been so dazed by her appearance that Goken ran onto Videl and Pan seemed to be out of it. I definitely need to talk to them after this._

Gohan then realizes that they were supposed to be fighting this whole time. "Say, aren't we supposed to be fighting?" Gohan asks sheepishly. _Although I'd much rather continue to talk to you. _

Videl blushes in embarrassment. _Oops! I completely forgot about the tournament! I was so caught up in figuring out if those two kids were his siblings that I didn't even realize that we were supposed to be fighting, although I'd much rather be adoring that perfect body of his… Snap out of it! _"Y-yeah that's right!" she finally responds, getting her train of thought back on the match. "It's a good thing that there are other matches going on at once, otherwise we would be getting booed off the stage!" They both share a chuckle at that comment. Finally Videl continues, "Let's see who the better champion's kid is!"

"Alright! Prepare for battle!" Gohan responds, dropping his nervous demeanor at the prospect to an entertaining spar. He saw her fighting off all of those others before and was impressed to say the least.

Videl answers by going on the offensive. She starts him off with one of her father's famous 'Dynamite Kick's' yet she only connects with air as Gohan swiftly dodges it by moving his head to the side. Videl, stunned that her kick didn't connect, is left venerable which Gohan takes advantage of by giving her a light jab to the left side of her lower torso.

Despite it being a light punch for Gohan, Videl is knocked twenty feet back by it, although she manages to stay on the platform. She growls as she realizes that he didn't even seem like he was trying in that little exchange. She responds by going after the young demi-sayian once again, this time, giving him an entourage of punches and kicks, all of which he successfully dodges and blocks. To Gohan, they are like in slow motion, but to the average human spectator, the punches are only blurs.

_Wow she's cute and a great fighter! _Gohan silently exclaims. _Wait did I just call her cute? Oh boy Gohan not now, she's the daughter of that big liar for Dende's sake… but she does seem different from her father. I guess it's not fair to judge her by him alone._

Videl notices that Gohan is in deep thought even though he is blocking everything that she's throwing at him. This make the champ's daughter more frustrated, but she decides to take advantage of Gohan's little lapse in concentration and lands a powerful punch to Gohan's chest, knocking the demi-saiyan back a few paces. However, Videl looks more fazed than he does.

_What is he made of!? Solid steel? _Videl silently inquires as she grabs her throbbing hand. _It's feels like I broke my hand on his chest! _Gohan uses her pause to his advantage and lands a kick to the same spot that she got hit in earlier. This time, since she was distracted by her hand, she goes flying off the platform, landing in the ocean below in a thundering splash.

"And Gohan advances to the semi-finals, beating out Videl Satan!" the announcer exclaims and gasps from the crowd can be heard at this. Everyone expected the champ's daughter to make it to the next round.

Gohan however immediately dives off of the platform searches for Videl. _I hope she's okay. I think I overdid it a little on that kick. _He finds Videl treading water, gasping for breath, still stunned that she flew off the platform after one kick. Gohan swims over there and sees if she's alright. "Are you okay?" he asks her, concern lacing his voice.

Videl, surprised that he dove in after her, replies, "I'm fine! How did you do that?"

"It was no big deal, but I'll tell you when we get to shore. I'll help you swim back."

Gohan puts his arm around Videl's shoulders and she instantly blushes from the contact. _What's wrong with me? Usually I never let someone help me, yet somehow this boy is different. He seems to genuinely care about me. Wow, he's caring and good looking! Whoa wait a minute Videl! Calm yourself down and just focus on getting to shore. Don't think about the contact he's making with you._

They finally make it to shore and Gohan helps Videl out of the water, the daughter of Hercule still blushing furiously. The ever observant Gohan notices this and asks her if she's alright once again.

"Your cheeks are red! Did you tire yourself out or something?" Gohan asks, concerned.

Videl blushes even more at this statement. _Wow it's a good thing he seems completely oblivious! I'm so embarrassed right now! How can one boy have this effect on me? I've seen plenty of cute guys, but no one has ever affected me like him. _"Umm yeah," Videl finally answers the concerned demi-saiyan. "That was one tiring swim… ha ha." _Way to sound convincing Videl!_ She silently scolds herself.

Gohan accepts her answer however and sighs in relief. "Well rest up I guess." Gohan responds, nervousness coming back to him. "By the way, great match! You were impressive."

His last statement gets Videl out of her embarrassed state. "What are you talking about?" she asks indignantly. "You beat me with one kick, plus I was only able to hit you once… and it hurt me more than it hurt you!"

Gohan, seeing the sudden change in behavior gets even more nervous. _What is it about this girl that makes me so uneasy? I don't understand this!_ "Yeah that's true, but you were a lot more impressive than all of the other fighters. You did really well! You actually made me work to dodge all of your punches and kicks. I usually don't get hit at all!"

Videl is stunned at this declaration. _How good is this kid? _She silently wonders. _I'm a master at my father's dojo! I thought the only one capable of beating me was my dad! I must find out who taught him!_ "Wow, who taught you martial arts Gohan?"

Gohan's nervousness drops after that question as he finds it a very easy one to answer. "Well my first sensei was someone by the name of Piccolo and then my dad taught me."

_I knew it! _Videl silently exclaims. _This just proves that Goku Son isn't a fraud like dad makes him out to be! I knew that he had to have some skill in order to win the Budokai._

Videl never told anyone about it before, but she's been skeptical about her father ever since he started calling out Goku Son and calling him a fraud after the Cell Games. She found it incredibly suspicious that he was so defensive of his title and was so adamant on the fact that Goku, the former champion, only used tricks to win. Why would her father act that way so suddenly when he's never acted that way in the past? To Videl, this made it seem like her father was hiding something, and if there's one thing that Videl can't stand is people hiding things from her!

She became more skeptical of her father after she saw old footage of the 23rd Budokai. Not only was Goku doing those things that her father dismissed as 'tricks,' but so were the other finalists including the likes of past greats such as former champion Tien Shinhan, three-time qualifier Yamcha the Bandit, two-time semi-finalist and quarter-finalist at the 23rd tournament Krillin Chestnut, and even Majunor, the runner up at that tournament.

While she agreed that no one could possibly fly around like they seemed to be doing, or shoot balls of light out of their hands, she can't help but doubt her father's claim because to her, they didn't look like tricks at all! They looked incredibly real, and the proof of that was the state of the arena after the finals ended: there was none because it was blown up! Videl couldn't help but recognize the similarities between the things they were doing at the 23rd Budokai and the ones that the mystery fighters were doing at the Cell Games. Then couple that with the way her dad has been acting since the Cell games, and Videl can't help but put a connection between the two, only reinforcing her suspicions about her father.

Videl shakes off her thoughts as she realizes that Gohan has been staring at her again. Blushing, she tries to hide her embarrassment by engaging in conversation again. "Well I must say that I'm impressed Gohan. Your dad and that Piccolo guy taught you well, plus you just proved that your dad's not a phony like my dad says he is. If you're that good, then he _must _be a great fighter as well. I always had a suspicion that my dad was lying about Goku, and you proved me right. Thanks Gohan!" Videl then goes over and gives Gohan a hug, a gesture that surprises both of them and makes them both blush furiously.

_Dende! Did I just do that? _Videl silently exclaims.

_Oh my Dende! What's wrong with me? _Gohan silently thinks. _It's only a hug, yet I suddenly feel very hot and nervous. _

After a few moments, Videl lets go and looks down at the ground, and Gohan does the same, the blush still apparent on both of their faces. After another few minutes, Videl finally works up the courage to say something. "Well, good luck in your semi-finals match! I know you can win!"

"Thanks," Gohan responds. "I guess I'll see you around! Bye!" Gohan makes his way to the elevator shaft that will bring him back to the top where the platforms are suspended._ Wow she's something else! Even though her father is such a fraud and an idiot, she seems to be intelligent and always seeking out the truth, the complete opposite of her father! Not only that, but she actually thinks dad is a great warrior too, and actually doesn't believe everything that comes out of her father's mouth! Man Gohan, you've hit the jackpot! After the tournament, I definitely need to find her again and see if she wants to be my friend. _

_Wow…_ Videl silently admires the boy that just beat her in the prelims. _He is something special. He seemed to genuinely care about me and not just because of my father. After thinking it over, I can't believe he doesn't hate me for what dad says about his dad. That's just one more reason he's so special. _At that moment, Videl makes a vow to find Gohan again once the tournament's over and ask him if he wants to be her friend. _Hopefully it will turn into more than that,_ she silently hopes.

* * *

Pan watched the exchange between the younger versions of her parents from afar. She grins broadly as she realizes they both already like each other; the way they reacted to each other made it completely obvious to the young masterful emotion reader, although from what she heard from Mirai Trunks, Gohan was completely oblivious to Videl's feelings towards him for the longest time. She sighs as she remembers this and figures that once again, he is oblivious to both his and her feelings towards each other.

Now you're probably wondering how Pan could be watching everything between her two parents if she was fighting at the same time as them. Well apparently Videl and Gohan were talking for so long that by the time they started actually fighting, all of the platforms had already finished with all of the Z-fighters winning quite easily except for platform #6, where something very interesting is about to happen.

Goken continues to fight all of the fighters as they have their attention elsewhere. All he has to do is punch the guys in the back or the side and they fly off the platform, which this time is a long rocky cliff right off the edge of the island. Apparently, they are all too engrossed in the lone female fighter, who the poor eight-year-old can't even see over all of the tall fighters, so he just beats them all so he can see what the big deal is about this girl. As far as he's concerned, all girls that aren't his sister or Auntie Bulma or his grandma and mother are all yucky, disgusting, cootie-infested losers! Perhaps this one is different though… if only he could see!

Finally, after knocking off twenty guys, Goken gets a good look at the center of attention. His eyes widen and he growls in anger at the woman he sees. It was a young blond woman with icy blue eyes, the same eyes that Goken remembers all too clearly; the same eyes that used to strike fear into everyone in his timeline; the same eyes than make him bubble with rage at everything that she had done.

The eyes of Android Eighteen.

Goken, looking into those eyes he hasn't seen in three years, instantly remembers what she did. He remembers how she and her twin attacked them at Capsule Corps. while Mirai Trunks was away. This memory leads to fear, which leads to rage, which leads to a need to protect those he loves from the mechanical abomination. This triggers Goken's super sayian transformation for only the second time in his young yet extremely difficult life.

The wind picks up around the young saiyan and increases in intensity as his hair switches from black to radiant gold, his eyes from deep onyx to glossy teal. His ki increases dramatically and with a final yell, the transformation is complete. He now sports glowing golden, spiky hair and cold teal eyes; his body is glowing in a radiant golden aura; most impressive however is his ki level. It has increased exponentially, causing everyone who can sense ki to stop what they are doing and look at the young saiyan. The intense winds that come about from the chibi knock all of the remaining competitors off of the platform.

"ANDROID!" Goken cries at the top of his lungs, his eyes shining with tears, yet cold and heartless, filled with rage and malice towards the cyborg. "I WILL NOT LET YOU HURT MY FAMILY ANYMORE!"

Android Eighteen's eyes widen at the sight of the sayian chibi. "Goku?" She asks, completely in awe at the sight in front of her. Before she can say anything else however, she feels like all of the air is forced out of her lungs, courtesy of a Goken punch straight to the solar plexus. She doubles over in pain and then flies into the air as Goken gets in a strong uppercut to her jaw.

_He's so strong!_ Eighteen silently comments as she now tries to defend against a flurry of punches and kicks from the enraged super saiyan. _Who is this kid? Did Goku have another son I didn't know about? _As she continues to ponder these thoughts, Goken gets a punch in on the cyborg that knocks her back to the platform, her body slamming with excessive force against the sturdy rock making a crater three feet in depth.

"YOU WILL NOT TERRORIZE US ANYMORE!" Goken shouts, completely caught up in his rage. His ki spikes again as he charges a giant ki blast in his hand with the intention of decimating the android.

Eighteen, completely caught off guard by the sheer power behind Goken's latest assault is completely defenseless. She is struggling to keep consciousness at this point and all she can do is watch as the ki in the super saiyan's hand continues to grow and become more defined. Finally, after a few seconds of gathering ki, Goken lets out his signature attack.

"BRIGHT BEAM!" Goken shouts at the top of his lungs. Goken shoots his right hand forward with his fingers all spread out and five, thin, extremely white beams come out of each of his fingers. The five lasers undergo a corkscrew motion and five feet before the target, Goken closes his spread out hand into a fist, making the lasers combine into one large beam, letting out an extremely bright light that blinds everyone. Eighteen braces herself for her end but it never comes. She hears an incredible explosion from far up above, but still can't see a thing.

Standing in front of the severely injured android is a very angry super saiyan Gohan. Having anticipated the attack from his future son, Trunks, Goku, Pan and him are the only ones in the whole area other than Goken not blinded by his attack. He is sporting a furious expression as Goken is completely stunned at his father's actions.

"GOKEN GOKU SON!" Gohan yells at the youngest super saiyan, causing the chibi to flinch at his tone. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?! IF I HADN'T DEFLECTED THAT YOU COULD HAVE KILLED HER!"

Goken now sports a look of utter regret as he falls out of his rage. After seeing his father suddenly appear and deflect his attack, Goken realizes what he was about to do. He also remembers what Trunks said about how the androids of this timeline are different from those in his.

"…Sorry daddy…" Goken timidly responds, completely forgetting that he's supposed to be Gohan's brother. Luckily he says it soft enough so that only those with extra sensitive ears can hear him.

Gohan sighs and turns around to see Eighteen now unconscious. After she realized that the attack was deflected, she finally gave into the tug of unconsciousness, fainting from the shock of nearly being killed. Gohan suddenly realizes that he's not supposed to be on the platform and instant transmissions back to the stands. Luckily, the judges were still blind from Goken's bright beam so they never saw Gohan on the platform. When they finally get their vision back, they declare Goken the winner of his block, although they have no clue what went on in those few minutes as they were blind.

As soon as he is declared the winner, Goken flies away from the scene at top speed, ashamed of what he did. Gohan, anticipating this type of reaction, uses instant transmission to teleport in front of his son. Goken immediately is fear stricken and backs away from his father, but Gohan advances and wraps his arms around his terrified son. _This is what dad must feel like when I ascend to the second level. _Gohan realizes, seeing just how similar Goken is reacting to the way he reacted when he found out about his voice in his head.

Goken struggles to get free but Gohan just tightens his grip. Finally realizing he won't be able to escape his father's embrace, Goken stops struggling and starts to sob into Gohan's chest. "Please don't hate me daddy! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Goken desperately cries between sobs.

Gohan is struck by his son's desperate pleas. This is the _exact_ same way Gohan reacted when his father confronted him after he gave in to the voice against his father and Piccolo a week ago. Of course Gohan could _never_ hate his son, not even if he wanted to. He immediately comforts the boy. "Goken, you know I could never hate you, even if you killed me. I love you more than anything!"

"But daddy…" Goken chokes, still hysterical from what he almost did. "I almost killed her! How could you love me?"

"Goken!" Gohan suddenly shouts, causing Goken to momentarily break from his sobbing. "Don't you _ever_ think that I don't love you! Got it?" Goken just gives a weak nod and Gohan sighs, softening his tone dramatically while running his hand through his hair in a soothing gesture. "Goken, I understand completely why you reacted the way you did. I know what your world has been through. You, Pan, and your Uncle Trunks told me all about it. I probably would have reacted the same way if I were in your shoes."

As Gohan ponders that last thought, he realizes just how true that statement is. It's incredible how much Goken acts just like him. He may have his grandfather's looks, but his personality screams Gohan.

Goken's eyes widen at his father's last statement and he looks up at his father in awe. "Really daddy?" the chibi sniffles.

"Really, son really," Gohan confidently responds. "You were just trying to protect everyone you love. That's what drove you to super saiyan. However Goken, you need to learn to control your super saiyan form. From what you've told me, that was your first time using it in a battle, am I right?

Goken nods weakly in confirmation before Gohan continues. "Trust me son, I know that feeling. You feel nothing but anger and revenge on the one that caused the transformation. I need you to realize that I understand completely what you are going through and that I do not resent you in the slightest. In fact, I'm proud of you for being able to achieve the legendary transformation at the youngest age ever. I'm also extremely proud of your power. Android Eighteen is a force to be reckoned with, yet you beat her pretty easily. You are far stronger than I was at your age."

Gohan then lets go of his now calmed down son, although a few lingering tears are threatening to come out. However, a smile appears on the younger one's face and Gohan internally sighs in relief. He hated seeing his son in such a distraught state, and he's glad he was able to help comfort the poor chibi.

This confrontation with his future son makes Gohan realize something: this is exactly what Gohan puts his father through every time he gives in to the voice in his head. Being on the other side of the spectrum opened his eyes to the pain his father must feel whenever he sees Gohan in this kind of state, thinking that his father resents him. This is the main reason why he reiterated the point that he doesn't hate Goken and that he'll always love him no matter what. Saying this to Goken made him realize that the same applies to him and his father. Now that Gohan has had to say it to his child, he knows that those words are true and genuine, and not just something he says to cheer him up. He doesn't realize it, but he just took a big step in reducing the power the voice inside his head has over him with this realization by decreasing his self-loathing.

"That was some technique there Goken," Gohan praises, changing the subject. He feels like his son could use a little time to cheer up before he goes back to the arena, plus he wants to drive out any doubt in his son's mind that he would resent him. "You did that once before when training as well. Did you come up with that all on your own?"

Goken, thankful for the subject change, grins at his father. "Yeah!" he says enthusiastically. "I call it my ultra-super-mega-destructo-freakishly-powerful-awesome-and-bright beam, but Uncle Trunks said that was too long of a name so I only call it the bright beam when I use it." He starts rubbing the back of his head with his hand, a gesture all too familiar with a Son.

Gohan beams at his boy from the future. "That's impressive little man! How did you come up with it?"

"Well," Goken starts, thinking back on how he actually came up with the technique. "I remember Uncle Trunks teaching us all of these useful techniques that you guys did before you died, and I ended up combining a couple of them. I was designing it so I could use it against the androids when I was strong enough, so I thought of how I could best combine certain elements of everyone's attacks. The first part is a variation of Mr. Piccolo's special beam cannon, in which I concentrate the ki into all of my fingers and release separate beams that spiral around each other. This is to get the opponent into a lulled state where they believe that it won't do much damage, plus it just looks so amazingly cool as well!" Goken enthusiastically says, causing Gohan to laugh.

"When I close my hand," the younger chibi continues, "the beams combine into a much bulkier and powerful beam, a variation of your attack daddy, the masenko! I used that one because not only does it have the power, but it also has penetrating force that will allow it to break the vast majority of ki shields… at least that's what Uncle Trunks said it could do…" he adds, putting his chin in his hand and looking up towards the sky.

He then looks back at Gohan and continues explaining his technique. "And the last element I added was a variation of Mr. Tien's solar flare technique, allowing me to not only blind the opponent, but to completely catch them off guard, and force them to lower their defenses. I added this as more of a safety measure for in case the beam wasn't powerful enough to take out the androids. That way, I could use their temporary blindness to escape in case I got into serious trouble."

Gohan is absolutely and completely stunned. His son is a genius! Not only was he able to combine three separate techniques that are difficult to learn into one attack, but his logic behind each technique is absolutely flawless! The little guy thought of _everything_! The androids' Vegeta-like cockiness, the fact that they can use ki shields to defend themselves, and the fact that they may be still powerful enough to withstand it, giving him a backup plan in case he failed. And all at the age of eight! If there was any doubt in his mind that Goken wasn't his child (and there wasn't even a shred in Gohan's mind), then this is a dead giveaway!

While Gohan would say that the concept of ki comes very easily to him, and that ki manipulation isn't that big of a deal for him, his son takes that to a whole new level! One would have to be incredibly skilled in the art of ki in order to even be able to produce a technique such as that. If Gohan is considered gifted in ki manipulation, than Goken has to be a prodigy!

Gohan gives his son the biggest grin he can muster. "Goken, that is absolutely incredible!" he excitedly praises his son, causing Goken to blush from the praise. "I'm serious son, you are absolutely amazing! I could have _never_ come up with that at your age, heck! I probably _still_ couldn't come up with something like that! I thought I was proud of you before, but now I'm even more proud to call you my son! I only wish I could do it openly without risking your existence." He then goes over and gives Goken another hug, this time not to console him, but to show his affection of how proud he truly is.

Goken just continues to bathe in his father's warmth. How could he ever think that his daddy doesn't love him, or that he would be ashamed of him? It is at this point where Goken makes a silent vow to always trust his daddy, no matter what.

Finally, after a couple minutes, Gohan breaks the embrace. "Are you ready to go back to the tournament Goken?" Gohan gently inquires his son, as he powers down from super saiyan. He doesn't want to force him to if he still isn't ready yet.

"I think so daddy." Goken responds in a somewhat cheery tone, also dropping his transformation. He has a smile on his face that makes Gohan smile back at his son.

"Alright. Now remember that at the tournament, I'm your brother, so niisan or Gohan from here on out until it's over okay?"

Goken rolls his eyes at his father. "I know dad!" Goken responds with a huff. "You've only told me like 500 times today."

Gohan chuckles at his son's reaction. "Just making sure." He then places his hand on Goken's shoulder and two fingers on his forehead and instant transmissions them back to the island, ending up right next to Goku.

As soon as they get back, Goken excitedly runs over to Pan, who is looking at the matchups for the next round.

"It looks like you got him under control Gohan," Goku comments to his son, looking at his grandson jumping up and down excitedly in anticipation of his next match. Apparently he's fighting Piccolo in the next round. "You really are a great dad you know that?"

"Dad…" Gohan shyly responds. He's still embarrassed at the praise his father gives him. "I'm not that great. He's just easy to cheer up that's all."

"That may be true Gohan, but I saw him when he was fighting. He was furious, blinded by emotions. I know from experience that it is not easy to calm someone down when that is the case. You must really know him in order to reach him. You know him inside and out, even though you only met him a week ago. More importantly though, you love him more than anything, and that, my son, is what makes you an excellent father," he speaks the last sentence with pride evident in his voice.

Gohan has heard it many times from his father in the past week, but it still surprises him every time his father calls him a great dad. "Thanks dad," he says genuinely. He continues to watch both of his children, now with Pan telling Goken something that shocks the boy as his eyes widen upon hearing it. He watches as Goken's expression of shock turns into one of pure excitement, a sign that whatever news Pan had told him was good.

* * *

~Hercule's Private Suite, Intergalactic Tournament Grounds~

Videl watched Goken's fight with wide eyes. She saw the boy transform into a golden warrior right before her very eyes!

"Woah!" she exclaims in awe. "He's like the boy from the Cell games! That must be him!"

Videl continues to watch him pummel Android Eighteen like he was going to kill her. Her jaw drops when he fires his bright beam before she had to shield her eyes from the brightness.

"What _is_ that technique?!" she asks astounded, still clutching her eyes. As she tries to continue her thoughts, she is knocked down by a shockwave of some sort that followed a gigantic explosion. By the time she got up and her eyesight was back to normal, the boy had vanished.

"W-where did he g-go?" she shakily inquires no one in particular. "They said he won the match, yet he's not there!" _ If I didn't see it myself, I wouldn't have believed it! That was no trick; that was real. So the guys from the Cell games weren't posers. _She then realizes a fact that she hadn't thought about yet. _Wait! Wasn't that the kid Gohan said was his brother? He's the one that's an exact replica of Goku Son! _

Videl then puts the pieces together and makes a surprising discovery. _That guy that fought after my dad; that was Goku Son! When that boy turned blond, he looked like a miniature version of that guy from the Cell games! I've _got_ to ask Gohan this!_

Videl looks around the area where all of the semifinalists are gathered and finds that neither he, nor his brother, are even there! _He must have gotten something to eat or som –_ Her thought is cut off by the sudden reappearance of Gohan and Goken, like they just appeared out of thin air!

Videl is speechless. How can someone just appear out of thin air? It's impossible! _You've got some explaining to do Gohan! _She silently seethes, eyes narrowing in suspicion. _I'll get answers out of you if it's the last thing I do!_

* * *

Translations:

chibi- cute child, dwarf

oniisan- older brother (formal)

niisan- older brother (informal)

oneesan- older sister (formal)

imoutosan- younger sister (formal)

otoutosan- younger brother (formal)

ki- energy

sensei- master, teacher


	8. And Then There Were Four

**A/N: Hey hey! I'm back after quite a relaxing weekend! Boy did I need that! I must say that I'm impressed with the support I've gotten from you all with these past couple of chapters, so I would like to once again thank each and every one of you!**

**Now I'm not going to lie, this chapter is LONG! I mean over 14,000 words long! There's a lot of stuff that goes on in this chapter that will be explained later in the story, mostly having to do with Pan and Goken. As a side thought though, I worked extremely hard on the battle scenes in this chapter, so I really hope that you like them!**

**As always, your feedback is greatly appreciated and vital to the overall quality of the story. On with it then!**

"dialogue"

_thoughts_

_"telepathic communication"_

~change in setting~

*action*

**flashback**

* * *

Chapter 7: And Then There Were Four

~Main Arena, Intergalactic Tournament Grounds, Yahoi Island, Age 768~

"Attention fans!" The announcers voice booms through the arena. Upon hearing this, the majority of people in the stands quiet down to hear what the announcement will be, everyone hoping for the start of the semifinals. "The matches for the semifinals have been set!" The crowd erupts in cheers at this statement. Everyone who won their respective blocks looked like they hardly even tried, so they are excited to see all of them fight each other.

"In match #1, we have Goku pitted against Vegeta!"

There are cheers from the stands, but a few gasps are there as well.

"Woah! Goku and Vegeta right off the bat!" Yamcha exclaims, surprised that the two are fighting each other in the semifinals. "This is going to get intense quick!" Yamcha is genuinely excited about watching the fight between these two. He knows that they are rivals and that Vegeta still has genuine hatred towards Goku. He knows that this will be the most exciting match he's ever seen.

Bulma and Chichi are in a heated argument over whose husband will win. "Goku will kick Vegeta's butt!" shouts Chichi indignantly. Amazingly, the little infant barely a week old in her arms doesn't stir from his slumber. The child is an incredibly deep sleeper apparently. Either that or he's already used to the dramatics of his mother.

"Ha! You wish!" Bulma replies with a Vegeta like arrogance. "Vegeta has been training ever since the Cell Games ended almost nonstop! He will crush Goku!"

As the two wives continue to argue who will win between the two, Goku and Vegeta are walking out onto the central platform, which is a 25' x 25' foot square platform in the center of the whole arena. Vegeta is wearing his usual smirk and Goku is just grinning in anticipation of the upcoming battle. He knows Vegeta will go all out in this spar; he would be vastly disappointed if he didn't.

"Time to show you the true power of your prince Kakarot!" Vegeta taunts his rival. "I will wipe the floor with your third-class ass!"

Goku just continues to grin at the saiyan prince, now facing him as they are on opposite sides of the arena. "We'll just have to see Vegeta. Just so you know I'm not holding back!"

"Doesn't matter Kakarot, you wouldn't be able to anyways since I am now much more powerful than you!" Vegeta spat back. "If anything, you should worry about me holding back, although I have no intention of doing that. I will humiliate you just like you and your brat have humiliated me!" At his last words, the announcer announced the beginning of the match.

Vegeta immediately goes on the offensive, throwing a punch to Goku's side, anticipating him to block. Goku makes the move to block his right side by dropping his right arm while aiming a kick at Vegeta's unprotected left abdomen, only to be met with Vegeta's shin. Vegeta had expected him to counter so he fakes the punch to Goku's right side, instead going for his now unguarded face. This punch sends Goku across the platform, giving the first strike to Vegeta.

The sayian prince wastes no time in capitalizing on Goku's lapse and immediately dashes towards Earth's hero. He sends a flurry of punches Goku's way, forcing the younger saiyan on the defensive quickly. Of course fighting his son while he's an ascended super sayian had trained him well for this kind of defense and he parries Vegeta's onslaught with relative ease.

Noticing that his offensive is failing to break Goku's impenetrable defense, Vegeta breaks off, panting slightly. He wastes no time in powering up. The winds start to swirl around the saiyan prince and they increase in intensity as Vegeta draws out more of his ki. His hair starts to flicker gold and falls back to black, his eyes flickering from black to teal. Finally, he lets off a yell and his hair and eye color permanently stay gold and teal respectively, but his ki continues to increase past the limits of a normal super saiyan as he is engulfed in an incredibly bright golden aura. The winds continue to increase in intensity, making the crowd shield their eyes under the typhoon winds that the saiyan prince is causing. Finally his ki levels off as the winds diminish and his aura settles down around his body. Vegeta is now sporting his very characteristic smirk that he is known well for.

From the fighter's lounge, the Z-fighters that are competing are watching this battle in awe of the power of the saiyan prince.

"Wow!" Krillin comments. "I can't believe how much stronger Vegeta got since the Cell Games. He really wasn't kidding about all of the training he's been doing."

"I know I shouldn't be, but I'm surprised as well!" Trunks adds, wide eyed. "One thing's for sure, he's stronger than I am now!"

"Are you serious Uncle Trunks?" Goken inquires his adoptive father. "Wowee! He must be incredibly strong!"

"Do you think gra-father can win d-niisan?" Pan asks her chibi father, quickly covering up her slips. She's worried that since Vegeta is so strong that he might lose, and she heard that her grandpa never lost! NEVER!

Gohan however doesn't look the least bit worried as he wears a knowing smirk on his face, He figured Vegeta would have gotten stronger, but he knows his dad did also. He takes a quick glance towards his long time sensei and Piccolo returns the knowing smirk before returning his attention back to the battle. Finally, Gohan acknowledges his daughter's question. "Just watch and see Panny!"

"HAHAHA!" Vegeta cockily laughs, confident that his new power far surpasses that of his rival. "Now you know the true power of your prince. I should make you bow down before me you third-class slug!"

Goku however looks on at Vegeta with a look of amusement, grinning ear to ear. "Wow Vegeta! I'm impressed! You're stronger than Gohan was when he fought Cell as a super saiyan! I really will have to try!" Suddenly, Goku transforms into a super saiyan in less than a second. His hair changes from black to blond and his eyes from onyx to teal almost instantly, no aura or wind accompanying the transformation. He makes it look like it didn't take any effort at all, and to those who can't sense ki, it appears as if he didn't do anything other than change his hair and eye color.

Those who can sense ki however know how powerful Goku has just become. Everyone except Piccolo and Gohan are in awe at not only how much power radiating off of the long time hero, but also at how easy it came to him. His ki level is already higher than Vegeta's, yet it looks like he didn't do anything at all. He seems completely calm and at ease, yet the power he is holding is absolutely phenomenal.

Gohan holds a smirk on his face. He knew his father was more powerful than Vegeta. The saiyan prince thought that Goku was taking a break from his training in order to teach Gohan how to control his power, but in reality, he has been getting stronger all along by continuously pushing his limits against his son while training him. While Vegeta may have been training intensely by himself for the past nine months, nothing compares hours of sparring against a more powerful opponent.

Vegeta however ignores the blatant power difference and still believes that he is the superior fighter. He immediately flares his aura around him and charges Goku once again. He jumps in the air right in front of the younger saiyan and does an eagle dive only for his legs to be caught, holding him in a defenseless position in midair. Goku uses this advantage and starts spinning his body, still holding onto Vegeta. After about thirty rotations, Goku releases Vegeta, the momentum sending the prince flying for miles.

However, Vegeta has never been one to be defeated so easily. He used his ki to eventually stop his momentum before he could fall into the raging waters below. He floats back up to the platform where He is greeted by a grinning Goku.

"Wow Vegeta! Again, I'm impressed!" Goku praises the scowling saiyan. "I thought I had disoriented you enough that you wouldn't be able to recover in time. I guess you are stronger than I thought!"

Though Goku is genuinely impressed with Vegeta and the tone he says his remark in isn't mocking, the saiyan prince takes it that way as he answers Goku by once again charging him. He is blinded by rage, not accepting that fact that Kakarot has surpassed him again. He has lost his sense of calm and is now attacking Goku recklessly. The prince of all saiyans throws a blind entourage of punches and kicks at Earth's hero with Goku dodging all of them. He doesn't even try to block the attack; Vegeta's technique is so sloppy that he gives away each punch well in advance, giving Goku the ability to just simply dodge.

Seeing as he will not get too much of a challenge anymore from his rival (who Goku considers a close friend), Goku takes charge. Digging into the well of ki that he has kept hidden the whole battle, his aura flashes for the first time in the battle. He catches a wayward punch of Vegeta's and sends the prince a ki enhanced punch straight into the solar plexus. The force of the blow causes Vegeta to cough up blood and drop back to his base form, exhausted from his unsuccessful tirade. Goku then mercifully kicks Vegeta off of the platform and the prince doesn't even make an attempt to stop himself from plummeting into the depths of the ocean below.

"Ring out!" the tournament announcer enthusiastically announces over the roaring crowd. "Goku advances to the finals!"

"BOOYAH!" Chichi gloats to Bulma. " I _knew_ my Goku would win!"

Bulma, despite her faith in her husband, expected Goku to win as well. "I'm just so astounded at how easily he beat him! Vegeta's done nothing but train the past nine months in that damned gravity room!" _Although he was spending time with Trunks as well. _Bulma adds mentally.

"What do you think Goku's been doing all this time?" Chichi counters. "While Gohan was studying, he would always go off sparring with that Piccolo. He probably was training just as hard as Vegeta has."

Goku looked down at the water in which Vegeta fell, contemplating whether or not he should help him up. _Naw! He will be incredibly furious after that defeat. _He silently reasons. _I'll just let him cool down a little. No doubt he'll take off to explode somewhere._

As if on cue, Vegeta bursts out of the water, sporting a death glare that could actually kill, sending it at his rival before grunting, flaring his aura and taking off in the opposite direction going Dende knows where to take out his fury.

Goku just shrugs at his rivals predicted reaction and drops his transformation. He flies over to the fighter's lounge where the rest of the Z-fighters are currently waiting for their matches to be announced.

* * *

~Hercule's Private Suite, Intergalactic Tournament Grounds~

At this point, everyone in the crowd has recognized Goku and Vegeta as two of the fighters from the Cell games, Goku being the blond man who fought Cell after Hercule 'lost his balance' and was defeated by Cell. This crowd included a certain raven haired eleven year old daughter of the champ himself.

_How do they do that?!_ She silently muses in her mind. She is completely astonished by what just took place in front of her. _Those had to be tricks! No one can fly or change their hair color by yelling!_

However, after seeing them in person once again, she sees how real they appeared to be. Despite being told by her father almost constantly that they are only tricks using smoke and mirrors, she can't deny that they are still powerful. Heck! She could pretty much feel the power from all of the blows radiating through the air, not to mention each punch sounded like a bomb going off.

She inwardly smirks. The mystery fighters from the Cell Games are here and at least one of them has made it to the finals. She is looking forward to the championship match with her father now more than ever! Videl has no doubt that one of the mystery fighters will be the one to make it to the championship match. She will finally get the full truth from that match; either her father will defeat them and prove that he was right about their "tricks," or he will lose and everything Videl has understood for the past nine months since Cell will have been a lie, including her father's claim of the defeat of Cell.

Videl has no clue what she wants to believe anymore. Some part of her wants her father to lose because he has let the fame get to his head, boasting all over the world and "graciously accepting" all of the gifts and money thrown his way, not to mention all of the random women he's been flouncing around with. If the man were to lose against one of the mystery fighters, all of that would perish as the world would see him for what he truly is, a coward, a moocher, and most of all, a fraud. That would put him in his place, and hopefully he would become the man that she remembers fondly as her father with all of that fame gone.

At the same time though, if he indeed loses, that would mean that he was lying to her the entire time as well! No matter how much of a buffoon her father has become, he still is her father. It would hurt her very deeply if she were to find out that her father would lie to even _her_, his own daughter about such a matter. What does she care if he actually defeated Cell or not? She still would love the man if he told her that he didn't. Heck! Maybe she'd love him even more because she could help him find away out of the situation he put them in, and even if it turned out for the worst, she still would have a lot of respect for her father for admitting such a big thing to her. But if she were to find out from him losing a fight to one of the mystery warriors, she wouldn't know if she would have the heart to forgive him.

Videl is now _very_ anxious for the championship match, where she will learn the truth about her father once and for all!

* * *

~Intergalactic Tournament Fighter's Lounge~

As Goku enters the fighter's lounge after his match, he is immediately questioned by the Z-fighters besides Gohan and Piccolo.

"WOW! That was _amazing_!" Goken enthusiastically cries to his grandfather. "I thought Uncle Vegeta was strong but you made him look like he was nothing!" The Goku clone emphasizes his point but enthusiastically throwing his arms back at the word 'nothing.'

"Yeah Goku! Vegeta seemed stronger than Gohan when he started fighting Cell, yet somehow you became that much stronger!" Krillin adds to the praise of his long time best friend. "How do you do it?"

Goku subconsciously rubs the back of his head while grinning at his son. "Well pushing your limits against a super saiyan 2 Gohan constantly really helps out a lot ha ha!" Goku cheerfully replies.

As everyone continues to praise and measure Goku's strength, Gohan thinks through his father's improvement. _Dad, you've improved so much; much more than I anticipated. I knew that you were stronger than Vegeta, but I never would have suspected _that_! You're ready to make the jump to the next level, but you need the right trigger. I'm not sure how to give you that; you're so naturally happy that it may not be possible to get you that angry, but I will try my hardest for you dad! I really don't want you to have to experience such a thing dad; it is extremely unbearable and it makes the normal transformation look like a cute kitten in comparison, but I know that you may need the power later on, plus you'll stop progressing really soon if you can't transform. I'll try my hardest dad, to help you ascend!_

"Now wasn't that a match for the ages everyone?" The voice of the announcer cuts off Gohan's thoughts and everyone else's praise. "We have quite the matchup for the next match as well! Match #2 features a battle between siblings! Would Gohan and Pan please enter the arena?"

Gohan looks up and blinks. He was so caught up with everything that has been going on that he forgot to check the matchups for the semifinals. He didn't know he would be fighting his future daughter. At this thought, Gohan grins and looks over to his daughter, who returns the grin enthusiastically.

"Are you ready Pan?" Gohan inquires his daughter. His response is eager nodding from the female chibi as she grabs Gohan's hand and drags him to the entrance of the fighter's lounge. The barely older father chuckles at the girls antics as he allows himself to be pulled until they get to the entrance.

* * *

~Main Arena, Intergalactic Tournament Grounds~

As Pan and Gohan make their way to the arena, a certain prince makes his way to the outskirts of the arena. As much as he hates that he lost to Kakarot once again, he is genuinely interested in how strong Gohan's future daughter is so he doesn't want to miss this fight. He of course will never admit interest in anything that has to do with his rival, so he watches from a distance in the background, close enough where he can see with his enhanced vision, yet far enough away where he will not get spotted by anyone else.

So, under the watchful eye of the saiyan prince, the two chibis in question make their way to the main arena. The crowd is still amazed at how two chibis could make it to the semifinals even though they saw how both chibis made it. Both Gohan and Pan ignore the gawking expressions from the audience, as both are still grinning madly at the prospect of fighting each other, albeit for different reasons.

Pan is excited to fight against her father that she's heard so much about. Sure, she's sparred against him a couple of times, but she's never fought him when there are actual stakes. She has never got to see the extent of his power, and seeing Goku display the amount of power that he did, yet knowing that her father is even stronger than _that_, she is very excited to see the extent of his power. She also has the desire to show her father what she can do in order to make him truly proud of her.

Gohan's intentions are to measure his daughter's power. He has a good idea of her skill from her spars with him, but even though he's seen her transform before, he knows that she has much more power than she's displayed. He is planning on taking this match seriously in order to push her to her limits. "Pan, don't hold back okay?" He tells his daughter as they make their way to the platform. "I want to get a true measure of your strength."

"As long as you don't hold back either!" is Pan's reply. "I think you'll find that you need to try to beat me." She adds as she faces her future father.

Gohan just smiles back at his daughter as the announcer announces the start of the fight. Pan immediately starts building her ki, not wasting any time with a warm up. Winds start building around her as her shoulder length hair starts standing on end. For a brief moment, her eyes change to teal and her hair to gold as her ki continues to rise. The wind intensifies and her hair starts flashing from raven to gold and her eyes from onyx to teal more frequently until finally she gives off a yell and her transformation complete. She is now surrounded by the familiar golden aura, her long hair now spiked up and glowing golden with her eyes a shimmering teal. Her ki makes a huge leap as this transformation becomes complete and eventually levels off.

Gohan smirks at his daughter. "Interesting. I guess we'll start with a warm up then." He crouches in a power up stance and throws his arms back, creating a burst of wind as he is surrounded by a white aura, raising his ki to as high as it will go in his base form. "Well then, let's get started, imouto!"

Pan frowns at her father, noticing that he didn't transform. This annoys her as she feels like he doesn't think of her as a challenge if he won't even transform. Her ki rises subconsciously because of this as she charges her father at breakneck speeds. She sends a punch right as his face which he dodges by the slimmest of margins, catching him off guard somewhat.

Little did Pan know that he didn't transform on purpose to see how she reacted, and he notices that she came at him with more force than he originally thought. _She has improved a ton even within this last week. _He silently praises as he continues to attempt to dodge and block her attacks, but is having a great amount of difficulty in doing so.

Eventually, Pan gets in a good blow to Gohan's chest, causing him to dry heave as well as sending him across the platform. Eventually, he has enough of this and he yells out to the now smirking Pan. "Okay, the warm up is over. Time to get serious." Gohan gets up from where he was knocked down, showing absolutely no damage. He then casually snaps his fingers and his hair instantly changes from dark onyx to an almost bleached yellow as it spikes up a little and his eyes change from deep onyx to light teal. As nonchalant that transformation is however, his ki explodes and is now as high as his father's max was at the Cell games. This causes everyone (including his daughter and the on looking Vegeta) to gape at how easy that transformation was. It looked like he could do that in his sleep, which those who can actually transform know is incredibly difficult to do.

Eventually, Gohan's nonchalant expression turns to a smirk as he looks at his gaping opponent across the platform. "Okay Panny. Let me see your real power. I know you're hiding it."

The comment by Gohan snaps her out of her trance she was in as she hardens her expression, and nods in response. Now completely serious, she flares her golden aura and the winds pick up again as she yells at the top of her lungs, drawing out her power that she has kept hidden her entire visit from the future. To everyone's astonishment, her ki shoots up once again, as it continues to increase with no indication of stopping soon. She continues to yell as her aura engulfs her into a bright golden sphere, making the chibi look as bright as the sun on Earth. The whole audience, minus the Z-fighters, needs to shield their eyes as the bright light only gets brighter and the winds intensify to hurricane force. Finally, the bright star that is Pan explodes and the wind dies down as her golden aura now radiates brighter than before around the young girl. Her ki level plateaus at her absolute max, which is about as high as Gohan's max was as a super saiyan nine months ago at the Cell games. If one were to look into her viridian eyes, they would see a look of pure determination and concentration.

If everyone was gaping before, they now are completely and absolutely fully stunned. At least with Gohan they expected this kind of power, but they had no clue what to expect from Pan. Vegeta looks at the platform with complete and utter surprise. His eyes are wide and his jaw dropped. _How is this possible?! _He inwardly seethes. _I am the saiyan prince and I have been fighting my whole life, yet this brat of that brat of that third class piece of rubbish Kakarot is as powerful as I am! And worse yet, she a _female_! Females aren't supposed to be as powerful as male saiyans. _His gaping expression turns into one of rage and he blasts off to parts unknown once again, not even bothering to see the ensuing battle now.

Trunks also watches on with a gaping expression. He had no clue how much of her real power she was hiding. _Since when did Pan get stronger than me?! I thought for sure that when we came to this timeline that I was stronger. I know she's done some training with Gohan and Goku, but to gain _this _much power in one week in absolutely ridiculous! She must have been either holding it back this entire time or she had no clue she even had this much ki. Huh, like father like daughter I guess._

"Yay Pan!" Goken shouts from the fighter's lounge. Unlike the others who are showing genuine surprise at Pan's power, the little chibi shows only pure excitement and anticipation. "Show niisan what you can really do!"

As he watches his little girl power up, Gohan's smug expression turns to one of surprise then to a genuine grin of pride. He feels Pan's ki as he nears the end of her power up and he feels that it is a little higher than his own when he fought Cell. He can't help the beaming expression that makes its way to his face. He is immensely proud of the girl he's facing off against and he has no trouble showing it.

"Okay niisan, is _this _good enough for you?" A determined Pan cries at her father. She attempts to maintain a serious demeanor but takes one look at the expression on her father's face and can't help the smile that makes its way to her face.

"Pan," Gohan calmly replies, pride lacing his voice with his grin never leaving his face. "This is _better _than good enough! You don't know how proud I am at the moment!"

That last comment makes Pan drop her serious attitude and blush slightly at her father's praise. Strangely enough though instead of lowering her ki, her ki actually _increases_ a little from her calmer demeanor. She isn't aware of it, but Pan is subconsciously controlling her power better, wasting less energy in her emotions, and in turn giving her a bigger well to fish from. Now with a grin on her face, Pan initiates the battle anew, giving her chibi father a brief warning before she charges him at full power.

Pan starts her assault the same as she did earlier: she goes for a solid hit right in his face. This time however, she gets the blow, causing Gohan to fly backwards, nearly off the platform. Pan doesn't let up on her attack as she sends a flurry of punches and kicks towards the chibi she calls her father. He struggles mightily to parry the attack but that initial punch hurt a lot more than he initially thought. He therefore is being completely overwhelmed with his daughter's entourage. Knowing that if things continue this way for much longer that he will actually lose, he knows he needs to raise his ki.

And that is exactly what he does. After successfully blocking a particular punch that left Pan off balance, he sends a ki enhanced punch to her side, sending her across the platform, not expecting the punch to be quite that strong. He uses this moment to start gathering ki. He summons a golden aura around him as the winds start to pick up. His ki starts to sky rocket, and little Pan can't help but gulp at the power that starts to radiate off of her chibi father. She knew he was strong, but she never expected this! His ki climbs to the max it can be while in the first super saiyan stage. This ki level is the strongest that the chibi has ever felt and looking at the suddenly very serious expression coming from her father, she admits to herself that it scares her a little.

At the same time however, she can't help but feel a sense of pride overwhelm her. She was strong enough to push her father this far. He did this in response to their battle, showing her that he thinks high enough of her to take her seriously. This also brings about a sense of excitement in her, the saiyan cells to blame for that. The thrill of fighting an opponent who she can go all out on really pumps the epinephrine through her body. This sense of excitement also causes a slight increase in her ki, the hormones of excitement washing over her.

Goku watches from the stands, now sitting by his wife and infant son along with the other non-fighting Z-gang, with great interest. He knows that his son only has used this kind of power against him and Piccolo, and to tell the truth, he is very excited to finally see it again on someone that is not himself. He knows that the circumstances that would make him use this amount of strength so he knows how much respect he has for Pan if he is willing to unveil it on her. The father knows that this is the pinnacle of super saiyan strength without going to the next level, so he is going to thoroughly enjoy seeing what his future granddaughter can do against the ultimate warrior that he is extremely proud to call his son.

Gohan is now taking this match completely seriously. He looks across the platform at the young girl and only sees another opponent; gone is his daughter from the future. Being naturally nice and trusting, he finds that it is necessary to lose all ties to the opponent in the middle of a real battle in order to fight at full strength. He constantly practices this against his father when they spar so that it doesn't affect him when it matters most.

Pan yelps in surprise as her father takes initiative this time and charges her. He moves at a speed that no one but Goku can follow and before she can even blink, Gohan is in her face. She tries her best to defend herself, but he is too quick. Gohan goes in with a fake punch to the left side of Pan's abdomen, which Pan buys by throwing her left arm down in defense, and bringing her right arm up to defend her face. In doing so however, she leaves the right side of her torso completely open for attack, which Gohan takes complete advantage of. He stops his right arm short of Pan's left side and instead throws his left fist into Pan's unguarded side, sending her flying across the platform. To the young chibi's credit though, she somehow keeps her balance and doesn't fall to the ground.

Gohan presses the advantage. As Pan is attempting to recover, Gohan fazes right behind where the poor girl stopped her momentum and delivers a devastating, full-power roundhouse kick to the chibi right in the opposite side of where she was previously hit, causing a booming crack to echo throughout the arena. This attack makes the girl cough up blood as she flies across the platform once again and right over the edge and heading for the water below. Before she can get her bearing straight she plunges through the depths of the ocean, barely conscious.

"Ring out!" The announcer cries excitedly. "Gohan advances to the finals where he will join Goku!"

The audience is dead silent as they never even saw what had transpired. One minute Gohan was glowing, standing on the opposite side of the platform as Pan, and the next thing they see is Pan go flying one direction, and then the other and splashing into the blue ocean below. Gohan had completely disappeared until he was standing where the girl had been previously.

Goku cringes at the blow that Gohan gave Pan. He knows from experience that those kind of blows from Gohan _hurt_, a lot more than most do. Even if you're powered up as much as Pan was, those blows can still be crippling. That just goes to show you how powerful Gohan is. _That's not even the full extent if his power either_. Goku mentally adds. _He can go many times higher than that at the next level!_

Goken is truly stunned at the display of power his father showed. To him, that was the largest ki he has ever felt by far! However, instead of being stunned silent, in typical Goken fashion, he is excited as ever.

"WOW DADDY! That was super-incredibly-spectacularly-amazingly-fantastically awesome!" he shouts, breaking the silence that plagues the arena. He is so excited that he forgot about the fact that Gohan's supposed to be his brother and not his dad. This makes every one of the Z-fighters cringe as the arena was silent at the time of his outburst so everyone in the audience could hear the eight-year-old call an eleven-year-old his father.

After listening to a couple of comments by some of the audience members however, the Z-gang realizes that they somehow didn't catch the obvious abnormality in the chibi's exclamation. They figure that everyone else was still in the trance that the display on the platform put them in. This makes everyone mentally sigh in relief.

Gohan however hadn't even heard his son's words at all. As soon as he heard Pan's splash he came out of his 'serious' mode and immediately felt deep concern for his daughter. _Crap! I overdid it! _He scolds himself. _I really hope she's alright. I know that there's really nothing that I did to her that a senzu or Dende can't heal, but still… she's my daughter, even if she's from another timeline._

With his worries on hand, Gohan forgets to power down and instead jumps off of the platform and into the waters below in hopes of rescuing his little girl that's only a few months younger than he is.

Cette girl is still sinking downward into the depths of the ocean, although not for reasons that one would assume. She's not knocked out; in fact, she's still a super saiyan, although her aura is gone so she can't see. No the reason she hasn't surfaced yet is because she is still in awe at what happened and is thinking through what just transpired. Although normally one would have a right to be concerned about her not surfacing after a couple of minutes, her saiyan blood allows her to hold her breath for extended periods of time; she could be underwater for an hour and still be able to hold onto consciousness.

Pan continues thinking as she sinks deeper. It still amazes her what kind of power her father has. _After he went full power, he beat me in two blows… _She winces at the finishing blow she took subconsciously rubbing her side where she took it. _Dang I was at full power too and that blow _still _hurts like heck! And yet… it still felt like he was holding back. Dad… you truly are amazing._

Pan now has a newfound respect for her father. Sure she had respect for him before; after all, he's her dad and had saved the planet in this timeline, but after fighting him firsthand, she realizes just how special he really is. She heard stories of how powerful he was from Uncle Trunks, but she _never_ expected _that much_ power! It's just mindboggling how much ki the boy of not even twelve years of age has stored in that small body of his.

Pan is brought out of her musings by the subject of her thoughts. After he dove in the water, Gohan locked on to his daughter's ki and was relieved to find that it was stable and still very strong. Still though, he wanders why she never resurfaced if she's perfectly fine and his curiosity leads to concern.

Since he never powered down, his golden aura is still radiating off of his body and making a small cyclone of water around him. Pan immediately notices this since the warm glow of her father's aura stands out greatly in the darkness that is the deep ocean depths. Coming to the conclusion that the only reason he's here is because he's worried about her like usual, she can't help but feel a little guilty. She starts swimming towards him, only to wince as pain shoots through her at the movement of her sensitive side. Still though, she pursues through the pain towards her father.

Eventually, father and daughter meet up underwater. A relieved look crosses Gohan's face as he spots Pan. He immediately grabs her hand and puts two fingers to his forehead, instant transmissioning them to the fighter's lounge.

* * *

~Intergalactic Tournament Fighter's Lounge~

Everyone who can sense ki tenses up for a second as soon as they feel an incredibly strong ki and a smaller, but still very strong ki pop into the room. They all are relieved once they remember that those two kis are only Gohan and Pan, both in their super sayian states. As soon as they just pop back into existence right in front of them, they are immediately met with the gusty winds and bright glowing light that Gohan has around him in his powered up state. After a couple of seconds of making sure Pan is alright, he finally notices the rest of the Z-fighters in the lounge and the fact that he basically scared the crap out of them when he made his sudden reappearance. He scratches the back of his head sheepishly and powers down back to his base form, suppressing his ki from obvious detection once again. Pan also takes this time to power down as well, although her attention is still on her father.

"He he, sorry about that guys," Gohan finally apologizes, a sheepish grin forming on his face. "I didn't mean to startle you all."

At that moment however, Goken decides to run up to Gohan and tell him how awesome he is. "Da-n-niisan!" Gohan inwardly rolls his eyes at Goken's partial slip. "You were incredible! Pan is ridiculously strong yet you still beat her! I don't even think Uncle Trunks could beat her anymore!" Goken is beaming at his father, rocking back and forth on his heals waiting for a response from his chibi father.

Gohan responds by looking down and his slightly shorter son, and giving him a classic Son grin. "I'm glad you think so Goken." He gives his son a small hug before he returns his attention to his eldest child. "And I think you're right about your sister too! She can go head to head with anyone!"

Pan blushes at the praise she receives once again. She definitely is Gohan's kid. "I don't know about that," she says unsure of herself.

"I believe they're both right about you Pan!" A new voice comes into the conversation. "I know you would definitely give me a run for my money! Don't let the fight you had with Gohan fool you. Heck! Even _I_ don't stand a chance against him anymore!" His voice however is laced with great pride as he speaks these words.

"Dad…" Gohan replies, now sporting a sheepish smile and a small blush of his own. "What are you talking about? You know you can beat me just fine. You do every time we spar."

Goku actually chuckles at Gohan's statement. "Gohan," he says, still chuckling. "You know that whenever we spar I'm going all out right?"

Gohan's eyes widen to the size of dinner plates. "Are you serious?" Gohan doesn't know what to think. This is the second time that he thought his father was holding back when he truly wasn't, the first being at the Cell Games.

"Dead serious son, it's the only way I can keep up with you." Goku replies, giving his son a look that says that he's being honest with him. "And I know for a fact from your reaction that you haven't been. What I saw today from you against Pan was the strongest you've ever fought one on one. And even though you don't go all out in our spars, they are still very close."

He then looks at Pan and smiles. "See what I mean Pan? He is so far above everyone else that _nobody _stands a chance against him when he actually tries." He emphasizes the last point, making Gohan look down in embarrassment. "If you would have gone up against anyone else in your match, myself included, you probably would have either won, or given your opponent a run for his money. I'm extremely impressed with what you displayed today! You pushed Gohan further than I've _ever_ been able to on my own."

Pan eyes are slightly shimmering and she has a big grin on her face as she looks up at her grandfather that she never got to meet before this week. "Thanks g-father!" Pan's expression then changes to one of curiosity as she processes the exact words her grandfather spoke. "Wait, you said that when Gohan fought me that that was the strongest he's ever fought someone _one-on-one_. You also said that I pushed him farther than you've ever been able to _on your own_. Are you saying that he's was _still_ holding back some power against me? You said it like he's gone higher than that before if he's faced more than one person."

However, before Goku can answer his future granddaughter's question, the voice of the announcer cuts him off. "Alrighty folks! Now that match was something else! This next match however looks to be a great one as well. Semifinal match #3 features Piccolo and Goken! Would these two contestants please make their way to the central platform."

Goken jumps up and down in anticipation of his match. According to his daddy, Piccolo has been training with him a lot! He should be a great opponent! "D-niisan! Will you cheer for me when I fight?" He looks up into Gohan's matching onyx eyes with a slight pout on his face, giving him an incredibly cute appearance.

Gohan looks down and ruffles the chibi's hair making him giggle. "Of course I will, little man. I'm your biggest fan in the universe!" It's true; Gohan loves the little tyke and only wants him to do well. He then looks up to Piccolo who was listening to the conversation between father and son. "He he sorry Piccolo."

Piccolo merely smirks. "Heh, I see where your loyalties lie." Gohan laughs good naturedly, knowing that he is joking. "Common Goken," Piccolo finally says after a few moments, addressing the slightly smaller chibi standing next to his chibi father. "I want to see how much Trunks has taught you." And with that, he heads towards the exit of the fighter's lounge.

Goken turns back to Gohan and gives him hug before he excitedly makes his way to the exit as well, skipping the entire time. Gohan watches his son as he skips away in his state of eternal bliss. He smiles warmly as his son makes his way out to the platform, making his way out of the fighter's lounge to sit in the stands to cheer him on with his mother and infant brother.

"So, father," Pan inquires Goku once Gohan is out of hearing range. "Was Gohan seriously holding back his real power in our fight?" She asks this question with innocent eyes that display genuine curiosity.

Goku sighs, not knowing if Gohan wants her to know this information. He knows that lately, his son has been deeply ashamed of his super saiyan 2 power, and he knows that's it's a sensitive subject for his son at the moment. Goku figures that his son doesn't want to tell her because he is scared that she will ask him to show her that transformation. Knowing his son, that is the _last_ thing he wants to do at the moment.

_She's just like Gohan; so observant. I really have to watch what I say in front of her. _He scratches the back of his head in nervousness. He decides to answer her truthfully. "Yeah Pan, he was. Now's not the time to discuss it though. I honestly don't know if he wanted you to find out if he didn't tell you himself so just keep this between us okay? At least until he's ready to tell you himself." Goku puts on a serious expression while discussing this with her in order to make it clear that she should listen to him.

Pan now sighs. "Okay father," her voice is laced with disappointment as he looks down to the floor, defeated. Inside though, she's completely in awe. _Daddy's even _stronger _than that?! Trunks really wasn't kidding about him being the strongest in the universe!_

Seeing Pan's outward disappointment makes Goku frown as well. "Say Pan," Goku gets the attention of the chibi he calls his granddaughter. "Let's catch up to Gohan and watch Goken from the stands. He's going to be starting soon and I bet your presence would really give him a boost." He gives Pan a soft smile as he says this in an effort for her to cheer up a little.

Goku's ploy seems to do the trick as Pan perks up once again, making Goku internally sigh in relief. "Yeah! I want to see how otouto does against someone like Piccolo! I really hope he can transform again. He's only done it twice so far." She is genuinely interested in how her little brother does against Piccolo. From the stories she's heard from both Trunks and Gohan, she knows that he is much stronger than he looks, and he looks strong to begin with.

"Well Pan, Piccolo's an incredibly smart guy." Goku answers. "He's probably aware that he can't transform at will yet so he'll probably antagonize the little guy until he does. Trust me, he's had tons of practice on Gohan so he should be able to, especially if Goken's anything like his father."

"Alright! Hopefully he can learn to control it soon, although it took me a month." She adds sheepishly. "Still though, he's a fast learner so he probably will be able to do it faster! Let's go watch him! Common father!"

Pan literally drags Goku to the stands where she sense her father and grandmother's kis, eager to see the upcoming match featuring her little brother.

* * *

~Main Arena, Intergalactic Tournament Grounds~

"Hi niisan! Mother!" Pan excitedly shouts to her past family as she makes her way through the grandstands with Goku in tow.

Gohan, who once again is holding his baby brother, takes his attention off of his brother and acknowledges his daughter. "Hey Pan! Are you okay? I'm sorry, I overdid it a little. I–"

"Gohan, its fine! I'm okay." She cuts him off, a little exasperated. While Pan appreciates the fact that her father cares enough to worry about her, she's getting tired of the constant worrying. It seemed like whenever she or Goken did anything even _slightly_ risky, Gohan would always worry himself sick and blame himself if something happened. _Looking at grandma, I can see where he got that from._ She internally comments.

Gohan saddens a little at his daughter's tone. "I'm sorry Pan. I just remember that you didn't come out if the water right away after you fell in and I thought I might have seriously hurt you with that last blow…"

Pan sighs at her father's sadder demeanor, trying to reassure him that she's perfectly fine. "I didn't realize that you were that worried. You know I can hold my breath a long time, but I'm sorry I worried you. I'm fine, _really_! I mean yeah, that last blow hurt but that's part of martial arts! It'll heal fine." She tries to be more cheerful in her tone to prove to Gohan that it really isn't a big deal.

Gohan, although admittedly still somewhat concerned about Pan, accepts her plea and stops outwardly showing concern for her. "Okay Pan, I'll stop worrying. So, how strong is Goken? What he showed earlier made me curious, but what you showed me makes me now even more curious about how strong he really is."

"Well to be honest, I'm not actually sure." She replies chuckling and rubbing the back of her head. "I mean I've only seen him go super saiyan twice, and those two times I really haven't had a good opportunity to feel his full potential." She then notices the giggling infant in Gohan's arms looking her. "Say niisan, can I hold Goten?"

Gohan grins at Pan and then looks at Goten. "I don't know, what do you think Goten?" he asks his infant brother, rubbing his head against the infant's, making him giggle in delight. Amazingly, it seems like he understands the question as after he stops giggling, he looks at Pan, and then at Gohan and then back at Pan, reaching his arms out for Pan. Gohan chuckles at the baby's actions. "Well I think he has decided. Be careful with him okay?"

Gohan then proceeds to gently hand Goten to Pan who cradles the chibi with great care. Goten takes comfort in Pan's arms by snuggling closer to the girl's chest, contentment showing on his face. "Wow he's such a happy baby!" Pan comments with a smile, never taking her eyes off of the cheery child in her arms. "A lot like Goken was actually."

As Gohan and Pan continue to discuss the similarities between Goten and Goken, Piccolo and Goken finally make their way to the platform and now are facing each other on opposite ends.

"I don't want you holding back Goken, I'm going to be coming at you full force." Piccolo tells his gakusei's son.

"Yes Mr. Piccolo," Goken respectfully answers, taking a bow and grinning ear to ear. _Boy is he going to be surprised!_ _I _know _daddy will love this too!_ Goken looks to the stands to see if Gohan is watching him, and sees that he is laughing and talking to Pan about something funny. However, Gohan does take a glance at the platform and sees the boy looking at him, so he grins and enthusiastically waves to Goken, who returns the wave even more enthusiastically.

Piccolo, watching this from across the ring has his arms in his normal crossed position and is trying to keep a neutral expression, although the sight of Goken makes him smirk a little. _Damn that kid! Only Gohan or his kids could make me lose my serious composition._ He internally scolds himself for getting too soft.

"Alright!" The announcer finally booms. "Both contestants are ready, Match #3 of the semifinals begin!"

As soon as the announcer finishes, Goken immediately puts on a serious composition. He starts powering up, bringing a white aura around him, but that's not all. He starts thinking about the androids once again; starts thinking about how helpless he felt every time they attacked; thinks about how many people got hurt or killed because he was so helpless. Through this, he feels the familiar rage and the need to protect everyone else, pushing his ki higher.

The winds that he created from initially powering up all of a sudden start gusting much stronger and his aura takes a golden hue. His hair starts flickering from pitch black to golden and his eyes start flickering from onyx to teal as his ki increases dramatically. With one last scream, the very familiar transformation into the legendary warrior of the saiyan race is complete, his hair now spiked upwards and glowing golden, his eyes a glistening teal, and his ki makes a giant leap. He doesn't stop powering up though as the winds continue to get stronger and his ki continues to climb. Finally, his ki levels off at the level that Trunks was at during the Cell Games as the winds die down and his aura settles to a steadier glow.

If they weren't paying attention to the fight at this point, everyone who can sense ki is paying attention now. They all know that this is only the third time that the chibi has transformed, yet he has somehow mastered the transformation already and can transform at will! Nobody, not even Pan expected this!

Piccolo can't help the slack jawed expression he has at the moment. _This is insane! How are these kids so strong?! I guess they really are Gohan's kids after all, but to master a transformation that took Gohan three months in the time chamber to master in a week is ridiculous! It's a good thing I've been training with Goku and Gohan these past couple of months otherwise he would be stronger than me for sure!_

Piccolo smirks at Goken. "Well kid, you really have impressed me. You know it took your father three months to master that transformation. I guess I will have to go all out right from the start."

Piccolo wastes no time in powering up, letting out a yell and bring a flaming white aura around him. His ki starts to skyrocket as his aura flares uncontrollably and the winds pickup. He keeps this up for a good minute or so until his ki levels off at a level a little above Goken's own. "Okay kid, come at me with all you got!" The Namekian shouts across the ring.

Goken only nods in confirmation as he charges Piccolo at full speed, bringing a fist up as he charges. Piccolo prepares to parry the punch, but instead of going through with the attack, Goken disappears from sight at the last moment.

"What!" Piccolo shouts in confusion as he looks around for the boy, finding nothing. Finally, after a split second, he feels a great pain in the top of his head courtesy of a Goken ax handle from above. This makes Piccolo create a crater in the platform.

"Yeah!" Goken shouts in glee. "It worked!"

"Never take your eyes off of your opponent kid!" is what Goken hears from the crater before a green and pink arm comes flying out of the crater, looking like it was stretched like a rubber band. The fist that is connected to it upper cuts Goken straight in the jaw. This sends the chibi flying through the air towards the other side of the platform as Piccolo charges out from the crater and continues his offensive.

Goken however, recovers quickly from the punch and starts attempting to dodge and block Piccolo's onslaught, albeit with incredible effort. Piccolo, who's used to trying to punch a super saiyan 2 Gohan is used to trying to keep up with the quickness that is Goku's son, so needless to say he is having a much easier time trying to hit Goken, although the chibi is proving himself very quick as well.

Goken, who is already at full power is quickly tiring from this onslaught, so he decides to do a risky move. After figuring out Piccolo's attack pattern, he quickly dodges one of Piccolo's kicks and makes an escape to the air, where he quickly holds his right hand out in front of him with his fingers spread out. He immediately starts gathering ki and each individual finger starts glowing. After a few seconds, he unleashes his signature attack that he created on his own.

"BRIGHT BEAM!" the chibi shouts at the top of his lungs. Suddenly, five thin, white laser like beams burst from his hand, one from each finger. These beams of thin ki start a corkscrew motion around each other and this continues on its way to Piccolo. The Namekian's eyes bulge from his head at this move that he's never seen before. As it comes towards him, he starts to prepare to deflect the attack.

Goken however suddenly closes his hand into a fist and the five thin lasers of ki suddenly combine, making a blinding flash in the process. This blinds everyone in the whole arena expect for Goken, who unleashed the attack, and Pan, Gohan, Goku, and Trunks, who all closed their eyes before Goken brought the beams together. The five beams are now a single wave of bright white ki that has the power of a super saiyan in it.

Piccolo, not expecting that in the slightest, is completely blinded by the attack, and immediately drops his guard to shield his eyes, forcing him to take the full brunt of the attack as a result. There's an incredible explosion on the platform which drowns out the screams of panic from the crowd.

The aftermath of Goken's technique is a charred and bloody Piccolo and a completely beat up, yet miraculously still intact platform. Thankfully, Gohan, Goku and Trunks all put up ki shields around the stands in order to keep the damage to the arena and the audience to a minimum.

Piccolo however is still conscious and standing, much to Goken's surprise. Panting in great exhaustion, Goken loses his transformation and falls from the sky, landing on the platform unconscious. The poor chibi put all of his ki into that last attack, and combining that with the physical strain of the super saiyan transformation on his small, eight-year-old body, the toll of the attack was too much for him to handle.

It's a few moments until Piccolo and the rest of the audience, including the judges, are able to see once again. However, once they see Piccolo still standing and Goken on the platform lying unconscious, the finally declare Piccolo the winner.

Piccolo grunts in pain as he is declared the winner, taking a look at the unconscious eight-year-old that put him in this state. He notices that Goken has a slight smile on his face, despite being unconscious. _Heh, just like your father. _Piccolo silently muses. _He looked the same way after he beat Cell. I guess that took too much out of you kid, but that attack really packed a wallop, and it surprised me when you combined your ki beams. You've really exceeded expectations, again like your father time and time again. I'm proud of you kid…_

After letting off another grunt, Piccolo finally collapses as well, the full brunt of Goken's attack finally taking its toll on the Namekian.

* * *

Gohan watched the battle incessantly, and couldn't believe his eyes when Goken brought on the super saiyan transformation on his own. He didn't know if he ever felt prouder of the boy than in that moment, but when he initiated the fight with Piccolo with his flawless strategy, and then when he unleashed his signature attack that he made up all by himself, he felt even more pride in his son. Even though he had to shield the crowd from the blast and even though his son passed out because of it, he still felt an overwhelming sense of pride overtake his smaller fear for his son's safety and anger at him for being so reckless with so many innocent people present. He watched as Piccolo was declared the winner and then when he collapsed as well. Gohan knows that it takes a great deal to knock out the Namekian he calls his sensei and that in itself makes him well up with pride as well.

"You know, he may look like me, but he reminds me so much of you that it would be absolutely impossible to tell that he is not _your_ son."

Gohan turns his head to look up at his father speaking to him, the pride still present in his eyes. "I mean did you see how he fought?" Goku continues. "He mastered a legendary transformation that took me almost a year in a week's time! And that's not it; it's the way he carried himself throughout the battle. After he became off guard, he used his speed to recover and fend off the majority of Piccolo's attacks, and then he used logic, knowing that he wasn't going to win if that kept up and tried to end the fight with a bang. I've fought you so many times Gohan, and I know that you are the exact same way, using speed to your advantage and logic instead of just brute strength, even though you have that as well."

"Dad…" Gohan responds to his dad sheepishly.

"I'm serious Gohan!" Goku continues. "During the match I had to blink twice and make sure you were still sitting next to me to make sure that _you _weren't the one fighting Piccolo! And just look at the expression on his face now, he looks just like you did right after you beat Cell."

"SHH! Dad!" Gohan snaps at his father, looking around to see if anyone had heard what Goku said. After seeing that no one noticed, he continues in a whisper, "Hercule beat Cell, remember? No one's supposed to know I did. And Goken's my otoutosan, not my son."

"Eek! I forgot!" Goku says, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, a classic gesture for him.

Gohan chuckles. "Now I know where Goken got his forgetful nature from." Gohan says, a smirk in his face as he looks at his father.

As if on cue, the sound of innocent laughter fills the air beside the father and son. Both turn to face the source of the laughter, a giggling chibi in the arms of Pan. The little tyke is giggling like mad, as if he just heard a funny joke. As soon as he stops, he notices that Gohan is looking at him and smiles up at him, holding his arms out towards his older brother in a signal that he knows all too well. Gohan grins as he takes the little guy from the arms his future daughter with great care and plants a gentle kiss on his forehead, causing the infant to giggle once again. As Goten starts getting comfortable in his brother's arms, Gohan addresses Pan. "How was he during the fight? Did he get scared at all when Goken used his bright beam?"

Pan tries to remember if she ever remembers Goten getting upset at all during the fight. "No not really. He whimpered a little when Goken clashed the beams together, but other than that he was perfectly fine."

After thinking this over some more, she realizes that her future uncle is something else. She remembers when she saw Uncle Trunks using ki blasts when he didn't know that they were there when Goken was only a few months old, and Goken had been scared crazy! He wouldn't stop crying for another ten minutes or so.

Goten however hadn't made a noise other than giggle. She could have sworn that he actually was _enjoying_ the fight! _No, _she muses. _That's crazy! He's only a week old! He couldn't be enjoying that_. She comes to the conclusion that her Uncle Goten is a much braver baby than most and that he probably will be a great fighter someday.

Gohan looks back down at his brother lovingly, who is now fighting sleep in his arms. "Yeah, it's strange, but I don't think I've ever seen Goten cry. At least not when I'm around. I mean I've heard him crying before, but by the time I get to him, he's already stopped. I don't know what it is."

Gohan eventually looks away from Goten and towards the platform to see that they are now carrying Goken and Piccolo off on stretchers. "I think I'm going to go give your brother and Piccolo a senzu and congratulate them. It looks like they will have to repair the platform before they can start Krillin and Trunks' match anyways. You wanna come?"

Pan looks a little astonished. "Of course I wanna come! I want to see Goken so I can tell him that he was incredible! I never thought in a million years he was already _that_ strong!"

Gohan chuckles at her enthusiasm. He then turns to his father and mother. "Are you guys coming?"

"You three go ahead," Chichi responds. "As much as I want to see him, I don't know if I could handle seeing him in that beat up of a state. I still hate seeing you in that kind of state, let alone my eight-year-old grandson."

Goku thinks this over and realizes that she is right. _She probably would faint_. Goku reasons. "Alright Chi, if you think that's best. Don't worry, once we give him a senzu and clean him up, we'll come back here to watch Trunks and Krillin. You can smother him then!" He shares a laugh with Gohan and Pan after this comment. "Alright I'm in! Let's go guys!"

Gohan gently hands his now sleeping brother in the arms to his mother before he heads off towards the Medical Ward on the tournament grounds, his father and daughter in tow.

* * *

~Medical Ward, Intergalactic Tournament Grounds~

Goken and Piccolo are currently lying in two separate hospital beds on opposite sides of the room. Despite losing the match, Goken is in much better physical shape than his counterpart across the room. Goken has multiple bruises and a few bruised ribs from where Piccolo's punches and kicks connected, but nothing too serious.

Piccolo on the other hand, is a bloody mess. His purple Namekian blood covers his being, multiple burns lining the majority of his exposed body from the ki attack that Goken used, not to mention the minor concussion that Goken gave him from his initial 'surprise assault.' Piccolo collapsed from blood loss and the searing pain and needs to seriously be healed in order to recover; Goken collapsed out of pure exhaustion, and really only needs to regain his energy.

This is the state the three representing three generations of Sons find their comrades in. Pan and Goku make their way over to Goken, the former very anxious for her brother to wake up. Gohan recognizes the two similar, yet drastically different states that the two hospitalized are in and decides to pay his sensei a visit first, deciding that he is in the worse state of the two, carrying a senzu with him.

A frown appears on Gohan's face as he looks at his sensei. The state that he's in reminds him so much of the way he looked after he sacrificed himself for him against Nappa. He momentarily recalls how his sensei sacrificed himself to protect him.

He starts to feel a little guilty all over again, but immediately shakes off the feeling. He remembers that the key differences are that this time, Piccolo's alive and the person who put him in this state was not the former general of the saiyan army trying to kill him, but his son in an intense match that tested his limits. Gohan shakes off the old memories of when he was just five and puts the senzu in Piccolo's mouth.

"Mr. Piccolo," Gohan says to the Namek. "This is a senzu bean. Eat it" Even though he's isn't in the greatest condition, Piccolo recognizes the voice and the gesture and starts chewing the bean, much to Gohan's relief.

It was at this moment that one of the attending nurses comes into the room in order to check up on the two patients. She sees the extra people and is first shocked by their presence, but the shock quickly turns to anger.

"Who are you people?!" She shrieks, causing everyone to cover their ears in pain. "What are you doing here?! These patients need rest! You can visit them later!"

"I need no rest!" a gruff voice cuts in, making the nurse jump. She turns around to see a fully healed Piccolo with a new set of his trademark clothes scowling at her. Now Piccolo may be friendly to Gohan and his children, and decent to the rest of the Z-gang, but to outsiders, he is still short tempered and curt.

"Th-th-that's im-impo-oss-ssible! You were–" she is cut off as her shock overtakes her and she promptly faints. Piccolo sighs and picks up the poor nurse and puts her on the bed he was just laying on. After the whole situation transpires, innocent giggling rings through the room. Everyone turns towards the source and they find that it is none other than Goken, giggling at the whole scene.

'Ha ha Mr. Piccolo!" Goken tries to say in between giggles. "That was so funny haha! She was so shocked!"

"Goken!" cry both Pan and Gohan in unison, excited to see the chibi awake. Gohan rushes over to the chibi's bedside to join Pan who was already right next to the boy. Upon seeing the grinning faces of the two people that mean the most to the little boy, his giggling stops and his expression turns into one of shame for some reason. He looks down towards the sheets of the bed as he softly speaks. "Sorry daddy, neesan…"

To say that both Gohan and Pan are shocked is an understatement. Goku however has a grinning expression and for some reason is trying to hold in a laugh. "Goken," Pan replies to her injured brother. "What do you have to be sorry for?"

Goken's expression changes to one of puzzlement as he looks up at his sister. "You mean you're not disappointed in me for not winning the match?"

Before Gohan or Pan can respond however, Goku finally loses hold of his laughter, causing everyone to turn to him with looks of confusion. Finally after calming himself down a bit, Goku explains himself. "Wow, are you sure that your name is not Gohan?! He does that all of the time! Of course they're not disappointed in you Goken!"

Gohan returns his attention to his son, "Exactly Goken!" he quickly reassures his son. He ignores Goku's comment about himself but makes a mental note to ask him about it later. "In fact it's the complete opposite. I don't think I've ever been prouder of anything before, well maybe besides your sister when she went up against me. You were so impressive little man! I still can't believe that you mastered the super saiyan transformation so easily, plus the way you started the match was great strategy. The way you countered Piccolo's strikes showed off your excellent quickness, but what made me the most proud was the way you realized you wouldn't win if you continued to fight that way. You had a great strategy using your bright beam on Piccolo and the execution was flawless! If Piccolo wasn't as strong as he was, that would have knocked him out on impact instead of a minute later. I'm extremely proud of you; there's a lot to be proud of!"

As Gohan continued to talk about each component of the match he was impressed with, Goken began to smile wider and wider until the end when his face turned into one of pure joy. "Really? Wow! Thank you daddy! You don't know how much that means to me!" He reached out to give his father a hug when he retreats a bit, wincing at a pain in his ribs. "Oww, Mr. Piccolo's punches hurt more than I thought."

Gohan chuckles a little and hands his son a senzu. "Here Goken. Eat this and you will feel better. Then I'll give you the hug you deserve."

Goken peers at the bean with curiosity and doubt. He's never seen this kind of thing before! In his timeline, the senzu plant failed before he was born, Trunks being the last one to receive one. He's somewhat skeptical about the healing powers, but if his daddy says it will make him feel better then he trusts his daddy. Goken eats the bean and the effects are immediate. There are a few popping sounds as bones fix themselves (apparently some of those ribs were actually broken) and the skin clears to its normal tone where bruises were once apparent. Goken's ki is also recovered and his stomach actually feels full, an impressive feat for someone with saiyan blood. Something Goken finds strange though is that he now feels even stronger than before!

"You feel better Goken?" Gohan inquires the chibi who is currently inspecting his body in awe. The excited expression on the chibi's face when he looks back up at Gohan melts Gohan's heart as Goken lunges out of his bed and at his father, now completely pain free. Gohan returns his son's hug enthusiastically, grinning from ear to ear.

"Daddy I feel even stronger!" Goken excitedly replies. "Thank you for everything! You're the best daddy in the whole wide world!"

Gohan feels a sensation he never felt before at his son's words. He has no clue how to describe it, but it was definitely a good sensation nonetheless. After a few moments, Gohan releases his son from the embrace, keeping one arm around his shoulders and brings Pan into the embrace with his freed up arm. "Well it sure helps to have the best kids in the whole wide world! I love you both so much!"

Both chibis respond by hugging their father once more. Goku looks onto the situation with a soft smile and eyes filled with both pride in his son and happiness for the two future chibis. Piccolo watches the scene with a look of indifference; he never understood the need to such sentimental rubbish.

The little family moment between the three chibi's is interrupted when the five Z-fighters feel the presence of two very strong kis in the area of the arena.

"Well it seems like Krillin and Trunks' match has finally started," Goku points out.

"OOH!" Pan replies excitedly. "I really want to see Uncle Trunks in action! I'll race you to the stands Goken!"

Goken replies with a smirk at his sister. "Oh you're _so _on!" he then bolts out of the room without warning.

"HEY!" Pan shouts with a pout. "NO FAIR!" she then proceeds to run out of the room after Goken.

Goku and Gohan both chuckle at their antics, while Piccolo looks on impatiently. The trio was about to make their exit when they suddenly feel another ki. It quickly disappears as soon as it comes, but they all felt it nonetheless. It was extremely powerful and it felt strangely familiar to all three. However, this ki felt extremely dark and worse, it was close!

Piccolo is the first to comment. "Did you guys feel that?"

"Yeah," Gohan answers apprehensively. Just the memory of that ki gives him the chills. "It was close! But that's so weird! The last time I felt that ki it was in Other World! How can it be here if it's dead?!"

Goku remains silent as he has no explanation to give his son. Piccolo on the other hand has a theory. "I'm not exactly sure Gohan. You're right, it's impossible for a dead soul to pass from the plane of the dead to the plane of the living. The case when you and your father fought off the rebellion in Hell was an exception granted by the kais. The only explanation is that it's either an immortal kai or a being that is still alive but was trapped in Other World somehow. If that is the case, then when the being was set free, it was immediately jettisoned into the living plane as it didn't belong in Other World. I have a feeling that judging by the darkness in the ki that the being was locked away by the kais themselves, but something happened on the day that we first felt it that set the being free."

After thinking through the situation a little, Goku realizes something important. "That was the same day of the rebellion in Hell! I remember now! We felt it while we were sparring and then minutes later King Kai contacted us telepathically! There's something else I remembered about that day too. King Kai's planet was gone! He told me Cell destroyed it!"

Gohan adds in his two cents. "Hey Mr. Piccolo, do you think that whatever has that ki signature was trapped in King Kai's planet?"

"That's exactly what I'm thinking Gohan." Piccolo grimly replies. "I don't know who or what that is, but if it was indeed trapped inside of King Kai's planet, then whatever it is must be extremely dangerous!"

"No kidding," Goku comments with a grim look on his normally perpetually happy face. "We better watch out for it! It's definitely on Earth now, but I couldn't tell exactly where it was. Did you guys catch anything?"

Both Gohan and Piccolo shake their heads. "It disappeared too quickly for me to get a good reading." Piccolo replies. "It must be extremely good at masking its ki because now I can't feel a thing. For now let's notify the rest of the warriors of this as the kis of Trunks and Krillin probably masked the ki to everyone else. We can only wait at this point until we can get a better reading on this ki."

Both Gohan and Goku nod their heads in response and then exit the Medical ward with Piccolo to catch the ending of the last semifinal and inform the rest of the group of the new danger ahead. They find out that they missed the whole match, with Trunks winning, but not without putting a good deal of effort in. Krillin fought the half-saiyan from the future valiantly, and only when Trunks transformed into a super saiyan did he win the match.

They also find out that the finals are taking place in a whole new stadium on another island just south of Yahoi Island. The group then transports there where Goku, Gohan, Piccolo, and Trunks head to the new fighter's lounge while everyone else heads for the stands, all awaiting what looks to be an interesting finale to the Intergalactic Tournament.

* * *

A little after Goku, Gohan, and Piccolo exit the Medical Ward, the attending physician makes his way in to check on his patients. The sight that he sees however makes his eyes bulge.

The only person in the room is the attending nurse from this shift, who is passed out on one of the hospital beds that is stained in purple blood. The doctor remembers that that bed belonged to the semifinalist Piccolo who, if he remembers correctly, was in very critical condition when he came in. In fact, the blood stains on the bed that he was supposed to be in confirm that very suspicion.

The other bed that was supposed to belong to Piccolo's opponent in the semifinals, a young boy named Goken the doctor recalls, is empty, although the ruffled sheets suggest that someone was in it at some point. If he remembers correctly, that boy had several broken ribs and many bruises, including bruises on internal organs and he was also unconscious from pure exhaustion.

The doctor wonders how in the world two patients in such bad shape not even an hour ago could have not only recovered so quickly, but had enough energy to break their respective states of comatose that they were in and magically walk out of the ward. He also wonders what happened to the poor nurse that rendered her unconscious and wonders how she even got in the hospital bed.

After assessing the situation at hand, the doctor takes off his glasses, wipes them on his white coat, and puts them back on his ears. After seeing that nothing has changed, He promptly walks out of the room, extremely confused and not knowing what to make of the situation.

* * *

Translations:

chibi- cute child, dwarf

ki- energy

kai- god

niisan- older brother (informal)

neesan- older sister (informal)

imouto- younger sister (informal)

otoutosan- younger brother (formal)

otouto- younger brother (informal)

sensei- master, teacher

gakusei- student


	9. The Intergalactic Fighters?

**A/N: Hey hey! Compared to the last few weeks, this week has been so uneventful, just being back in classes. But it's been such a relief as well and I've had time to work on finishing writing this story. **

**By the way in case anyone is wondering, I'm just about finished with chapter 12, which will either be the last or second last chapter of the story before the epilogue, depending on if I have to split it into two chapters. After the completion of this story, I will anxiously get started on the sequel, "Legacy through Actions"**

**Now I know that some people will be wondering why Pan and Goken are so much stronger after only a week of training in this timeline. It will be explained in due time so I hope that it doesn't make people drop the story, and that you will have the patience to wait it out.**

**I would like to take this time to personally thank both Pranktical Joker and Ky111 for your consistent feedback. You have no idea how much you guys have really motivated and really forced me to write at my best! I would also like to thank everyone else who is either following or has favorited this story. This makes me feel like writing it is worth it and I'm glad that you think enough of the story as a whole to add it to your favorites list or follow it as I update.**

**This chapter gets intense pretty quickly so I hope you like it. I always think that feedback is the most important thing for a developing writer, but it is absolutely crucial for this chapter as this one is probably the one that I have spent the most time out of all of them organizing and reorganizing my ideas. I really hope to hear back from you guys, especially on this one.**

**Another note, despite the opening scene being in bold, it is NOT a flashback. I couldn't find a better way to do a short time skip to the future. That is what is actually happening in the beginning. Sorry if this causes massive confusion.**

"dialogue"

_thoughts_

_"telepathic communication"_

~change in setting~

*actions*

**flashback**

* * *

Chapter 8: The Intergalactic Fighters?

~Battle Dome: Northern Arena, Intergalactic Tournament Grounds, Yahoi Island, Age 768~

**Heavy rain continues pouring from the heavens through the giant hole in the top of the dome as the storm intensifies due to the sheer energy output from our troubled demi-saiyan. Bolts of lightning continue to crack through the hole and strike the chibi in the glowing golden aura, surrounded by his own lightning as his ki continues to rise and grow more unstable. The screams of agony from the young demi-saiyan don't even sound human as they continue to echo through the booming claps of thunder that accompany each lightning strike. The winds are increasing past the level of a category five hurricane as they swirl around him as if he were the eye of the storm, making the surrounding buildings to collapse and the trees to disintegrate. The Earth is shaking in protest to the continuous efflux of energy being drawn all to one place, creating a gravitational pull towards the source of the energy, making the Earth start to collapse and split; stray pieces of rubble start to orbit the chibi responsible for such a disturbance.**

**"NOOOOO!" he screams, his voice growing more hoarse with every wail of deep pain.**

**_It's your fault Gohan! _The voice inside his head continues to say, disgust clear in its voice now. _You should have released me sooner!_**

**_I know… _he silently responds, finally giving the voice what it wants to hear._ He's gone… and it's all my fault… I let someone down again!_**

**The voice chuckles after hearing the confession. _So you finally realize that I deserve to take this body. With me in control, you will no longer be there to let the ones you love down._**

**_…Y-yes…_ Gohan shakily responds._ I concede my consciousness… to y-you…_**

**At this statement, the voice that has plagued Gohan since his battle with Cell in Other World lets off the most evil cackle the young demi-saiyan has ever heard, but at the moment, he doesn't care. All that's going through his young eleven-year-old mind is how he failed; how his fear had brought about so dire a consequence; how much he hates himself for letting this happen; and so, within the hour, he will be no more, and the voice inside will take his place.**

**_I don't deserve to live! I will never be good enough to protect everyone… I-I– I failed…_**

* * *

~**Earlier**~

~Battle Dome: Western Arena, Intergalactic Tournament Grounds~

A gathering is taking place among four members of a strange squad of creatures. They are all of the same race and dressed similarly, yet they each have their unique elements. All of them have a blue skin tone with dirty orange hair and menacing dark blue eyes; all of them bear white, baggy pants tucked into half and half yellow and black fighting boots; most peculiarly though is they all bear the same gold tooth-like pendant around their necks.

Not much is known about these creatures as they are of a race that has long thought to have been extinct from this universe. What their plans are is a mystery as well, but judging from their ki, it doesn't appear to be one with pure intentions. If not for their ability to suppress their ki, the Z-fighters would have arrived in a flash.

Finally one of them speaks in a language that has long been forgotten, addressing the rest of the group. "The cameras have all been taken out." A small squeaky voice says. The man or boy who speaks is the shortest of the four and wears a red long sleeved tunic with a pink turban on his head, covering his ears. "I crashed them all using psychokinetics so they should be irreparable. There's also a ki shield around the whole dome so no one outside one of the arenas will be able to sense a thing."

"Very good Bujin," a larger voice speaks up. This man is the second tallest of the bunch; he bears a similar tunic as the one called 'Bujin,' only his is black. He also has a purple headband that holds up his short spiky dirty orange hair. Lastly, he bears a sword in its sheath around his waist. "Master Bojack will be pleased. Zagnya! Have you completed your task?"

"Yes Kogu," a feminine voice speaks up. This woman wears a dark blue tube top with a white vest. She also has curly dirty orange hair going down all the way to her butt. "The rockets have been calibrated. Goku will be launched straight for Master Bojack's arena and no one should be able to return once they enter their arena."

"Good," the one called 'Kogu' replies. "Everything's going according to plan. Once Goku arrives, Master Bojack should have no trouble taking him out. Now Bido," he addresses the tallest of the bunch and the most muscular. He only wears a purple vest that is way too small for his torso and only has a mohawk of dirty orange hair, "did you take care of those pathetic humans that were dressed like clowns?"

"Heh, of course," Bido gruffly replies, his voice the deepest of them all. "Those humans didn't even last five seconds before they were all vaporized; and they're supposed to be the heavyweight champions of the world."

"These humans are a pathetic race," Kogu speaks up once again, disgust apparent in his tone. "None of them even can fly, let alone last too long against a Hera elite! I'm surprised it took you so long." This comment is met with a glare from Bido which Kogu promptly ignores. "Well whatever, the task is done. Master Bojack's plan is falling into place. Soon, Goku will be dead and then we can take over this pathetic planet! Let's report back to Master Bojack so we can prepare for battle!"

"Right" the other three respond simultaneously. Now grinning evilly ear to ear, the four aliens head off towards their destination to prepare for their attack.

* * *

~Battle Dome: Fighter's Lounge, Intergalactic Tournament Grounds~

Goku and company are currently getting ready for the upcoming finals in the fighter's lounge.

"Well this sucks," Mirai Trunks grumbles, pulling on a new blue gi to replace the one he fought Krillin in. "We don't even get to fight real aliens. This will be worse than the prelims! At least then there were 76 other guys fighting you at once."

Goku looks at the grumbling demi-saiyan with amusement. "Ah cheer up Trunks!" he cheerfully says. "Don't you remember that we're supposed to race to the end after we beat the guys? That's going to be the best part. I bet you Gohan will win that. Right son?"

Gohan however has his mind elsewhere and didn't even hear his father. He continues to stare straight ahead with a far off look in his eyes, making it look like the blank wall he's staring at is the most interesting thing in the world. _I can't get that ki that I felt earlier off my mind. _He silently muses. _I mean I know Pan and Goken can defend themselves, but it felt even stronger than Cell did! And what if it goes after Goten? He's only a baby! I need to find out who that was and where it is fast before it hurts someone!_

Goku eyes his son with a confused expression that changes into one of slight concern when he looks at the far off look in his sons eyes. "You hoo! Gohan! Are you there little man?" Goku yells, right next to the preteen's ear.

Goku's yelling startles Gohan out of his thoughts. "Oww!" Gohan shouts in irritation, grabbing hold of the now ringing ear. "Dad! Not so loud! You know how sensitive our ears are!" Gohan proceeds to give Goku an irritated glare.

"I'm sorry Gohan, but you were in some sort of trance. I had to get your attention somehow." Goku gives his son an apologetic grin, which makes the chibi crack a smile. That smile however fades as soon as it came and now a look of worry crosses the demi-saiyan's face, which makes Goku sigh in concern. "Gohan, what's bothering you? Is it that ki we felt earlier?"

Gohan gives his father a nod in confirmation, his expression unchanging. "Dad, I keep getting a bad feeling about this tournament. What if it's here? I just can't stop thinking about it attacking Goten, or Pan and Goken… and me not being there to protect them. I need to protect them dad!" Gohan started off calm but his worry made it so he was shouting by the end of his declaration.

Goku could see the desperation in his son's eyes. He could clearly see how much this concerned him and couldn't help the smile that broke out. "Gohan, I'm glad you take the job of protecting your brother and kids seriously, but son you have to realize that there's nothing we can do about it until the ki surfaces again–"

"There has to be _something_ we can do!" Gohan interjects, now angry at his father's apparent indifference concerning the situation at hand. Doesn't he know that this ki is incredibly dangerous, not to mention close! "I feel like this tournament is just a waste of time! There's not even a challenging fight left! Shouldn't we be planning _something_ instead of wasting our time on this stupid tournament?!" Gohan throws his hands down in frustration and looks away from his father for a moment in an attempt to calm down a little bit. Finally, he looks back into Goku's stunned eyes with a more pleading face, a look of desperation. His voice becomes soft and fragile. "I can't lose them daddy," Gohan pleads, using the old name he grew out of a couple of years ago to address his father.

Goku kept growing increasingly irritated as his son continued to rant on about the dangerous ki like he didn't even know about it, but after his last statement, all of Goku's irritation dissipates. He looks deeply into his son's genuinely concerned eyes and can't help but be concerned as well. He knows about the danger that the mysterious ki presents. Heck! Goku believes that Gohan may be the only one strong enough to take it out. It really does concern him deep down; he can't imagine losing his new son or his newly discovered grandkids either, not to mention his wife and all of the other members of the Z-gang that are in the stands watching the finals.

Still, he really has no idea what he can do; the enemy obviously knows about the Z-fighters since it's suppressing its ki, and it can most likely sense ki as well if it can suppress it. On top of all that, they have no idea who this ki is and what abilities it possesses. They don't even know the location of the ki, just that it's on Earth; it could be as close as the arena, but it could also be all the way across the globe. Meanwhile, it will know where they are and when to attack, giving it the element of surprise.

He seriously believes that the best course of action would be to wait it out until it strikes. He knows that it puts his loved ones at risk, but in all honesty, he doesn't know what else to do!

Goku tries to relay these thoughts to his now frustrated son when the announcer interrupts his chance. "Attention! The finals are about to begin! Will the competitors, Goku, Gohan, Piccolo, and Trunks please make your way to the Main Arena to get this round underway!"

Gohan gives a huff of irritation as he makes his way to the exit of the Fighter's Lounge. As Goku is observing this, he rubs the back of his head in concern. This is not good! An irritated Gohan going into the final round could mean trouble for the poor Intergalactic fighter that he will face. He knows that his son has trouble controlling his emotions at times, and the stress of the current situation that he's putting on himself isn't helping either. All he knows is that his son will try to get through with this tournament as quick as possible. He just hopes that he doesn't hurt the Intergalactic fighter too much. It is with these thoughts that Goku exits the Fighter's Lounge towards the arena ahead.

* * *

~Battle Dome: Main Arena, Intergalactic Tournament Grounds~

The sight of the Main Arena in the Battle Dome is quite the scene. The dome itself is truly gigantic, easily the size of five American football stadiums; the dome ceiling is easily a few hundred stories up. The grandstands stretch the entire circumference of the main dome, with the exception of four small tunnels that lead to the surrounding arenas, seating millions of fans making the previous arena look like nothing in comparison. On the walls of the dome are huge, high definition screens intended to show the battles against the galactic warriors in the surrounding arenas since they are completely separated from each other and the main arena; at the moment however the screens show a blank screen. In the middle of the arena is a platform that is raised about one hundred stories up in the middle of the Main Arena so that the crowds can see the live battle of the championship match against Hercule Satan. There are four elevators on the four corners of the square 30'x30' platform that take the finalists to the top of the platform. There are also four red rockets, each having only enough room to fit one person, each on a different track on the four corners of the platform leading towards the corresponding tunnel to another side arena.

While waiting for the four finalists to arrive on the platform, the Z-gang that is sitting in the stands is talking over who will win the tournament.

"Well it's basically a race right?" Chichi inquires Bulma. "I mean since they are just facing heavyweight champions everyone should be able beat them pretty easily. If that's the case, then I bet either Goku or Gohan will definitely win."

Bulma believes otherwise, naturally since her son from the future is one of the competitors. However, instead of starting another pointless argument with the infamously stubborn Son matron, she addresses the two chibis sitting next to her. "Who do you guys think is going to win?" she inquires of Pan and Goken. Bulma is truly interested in their opinions; they have lived with Trunks their whole lives and can sense ki as well, unlike her and Chichi, so they should have a good idea who should win.

What Pan says however surprises her, although she should have expected it. "Well isn't it obvious? Clearly niisan is going to win. Not only is he the strongest out of everyone by far, but also, according to Uncle Trunks, he was known for being the fastest Z-warrior _long _before he became powerful enough to fight on his own. I can also tell you from the match I had with him earlier that that is _clearly_ still the case. If it's a race, then there really is no contest." She said all of this as if it was the most obvious thing in the entire world.

"Yeah, D-niisan's amazing!" Goken adds, trying to add in his insight to the conversation, looking up from the bundle in his arms for the first time since he got him. Goken was jealous that Pan got to hold their infant uncle while he was fighting and promptly requested to hold him after he returned from the medical ward. Of course this was after minutes of "oh my baby's alright" and constant babying from Chichi but she complied nonetheless and the little tyke seemed to particularly like his future nephew. It could be because of how similar to Gohan he acts or how much he looks like his own dad, or a combination of both, but Goten wouldn't stop whimpering when Chichi finally took him back; eventually, he wound up in Goken's arms again because of it, and both chibis couldn't be happier.

Bulma puts on an expression of mock hurt. "Aww three against one! It looks like I'm outnumbered here!" she tries to say it in a dramatic tone, which gets the chibis to laugh.

"Sorry Auntie Bulma, but we're just stating facts here." Pan says though her giggling. "I would like to see Uncle Trunks win, but I seriously think he'll have a hard time against daddy." Nobody minds the sudden slip by Pan since Goku is out there as well even though she was talking about Gohan. However, before anyone can respond, the announcer's voice booms throughout the dome.

"Alright folks! The tournament is about to get underway! Our competitors are on the elevators as we speak and in a few minutes, they will be loaded in the rockets and sent on their way to their respective arenas where they will fight our Intergalactic Fighters! Since they will be fighting in the separate arenas, these large video screens will show each of the respective arenas once the battles get underway! The first person to defeat their opponent and make it to the end of the arena to the rocket that sends them back here is the winner and will fight the world champ, Hercule Satan for the championship!" Roars from the crowd break out as the announcer finishes explaining the finals to the audience. Everyone is eager to see who will win after the incredible semifinals matches that took place.

"Ooh!" cries an extremely excited Goken. "I can see daddy!" He hands Goten, who had fallen asleep (a very sound sleeper indeed) to Chichi and starts enthusiastically waving to Gohan and the others that are now rising on the elevators. Soon Pan mimics Goken's gesture and Bulma finds herself waving at her future version of her son as well.

Gohan is still soaking in his irritation when he spots his children in the stands. He can pick them out despite them being in a crowd of millions thanks to their unique and stronger ki signatures. Upon seeing his happy, energetic children from the Mirai timeline, his irritation dissipates and a classic Son grin returns on his face. He can never seem to stay in a bad mood if those two are around. He responds to them by waving his hands in an enthusiastic manner as his elevator continues the long journey to the top of the platform. Goku notices this as well and can't help but sigh in relief. He silently thanks the two chibis for helping lighten Gohan's mood.

Soon, the finalists reach the tall platform and they are ready to get loaded in their rockets for their journey to their respective arenas. Getting into the rocket is easy for both Trunks and Goku as they are both the perfect size for their rockets; they both fit in comfortably. For Gohan and Piccolo however, getting into the rocket seems to be more difficult. For Gohan, he was too small to fit in the rocket and needed extra fastening devices to keep him from flying out of his seat and knocking himself out from hitting his head on the overhead dome. As for Piccolo… well let's just say that the rocket wasn't built for such a big person. The 7'5" Namekian warrior couldn't even get his legs into the damn thing. He ended up very 'cozy' in his rocket as he was forced to go into the fetal position in order to allow the glass dome to close over the rocket.

_This better not be a long trip, _he silently grumbles.

Finally, after all of the struggles that go on with the rockets, the announcer finally starts a countdown for the launch of the rockets. After a crowd-aided ten second countdown, the rockets… well rocket towards their destinations through the tunnels.

"There they go folks!" The announcer shouts over the PA system. "They are now heading to their respective arenas and in a few minutes the live video feed will show you everything that's going on in the side arenas!"

The crowd lets off another roar as the finalists rocket their way to their corresponding destinations. The finals are now underway!

* * *

~Battle Dome: Western Arena~

Trunks is traveling through a matrix like area in his rocket. It looks like he is traveling through a computer program. As he gets through the end of this area, his rocket suddenly shoots into a very peaceful looking meadow. There is green grass everywhere with a lake in the middle; multiple trees line the area and it looks like there's a flower patch across the lake.

Trunks' rocket soon lands right by the front of the lake. As he gets out of his rocket, his expression changes to one of confusion. The scene that he is in currently confuses the adult demi-saiyan as he wonders if this is the right place. He doesn't even feel the Intergalactic fighter he's supposed to fight.

_Are we supposed to fight here or have a picnic? _Trunks silently wonders. He realizes that something strange is going on. No human besides those in the Z-gang has the ability to suppress ki, let alone have so much control to be able to suppress it to zero. That only means one thing: the Intergalactic fighter isn't present.

Trunks continues to look around the arena. He looks all around in order to find out what is going on. _Perhaps he saw the earlier fights and chickened out. If that's the case, maybe all I have to do is find the rocket at the end of the arena and I win. _

With this new plan in mind, Trunks strips down to his boxers and jumps in the water. The only way to the other side of the lake is to swim across it. Of course Trunks could probably fly across the lake, but he figured that he might as well have _some _fun while he's here.

After a few minutes, Trunks makes it to the other side of the lake. He dries himself off with his ki and does the same with his clothes that he was carrying before he puts them back on. After he finishes, he looks around the area on the other side of the lake and still sees no sign of the Intergalactic Fighter. He does a quick ki scan of the area and confirms that there is no Intergalactic Fighter around.

It's when he does this ki scan that Trunks notices something not quite normal. As he stretches his senses again, this time extending them to outside of the arena, he still feels no one else. This is extremely puzzling as Trunks knows that there are millions of people outside of this dome, watching him on the gigantic video screens. He also knows that despite the fact that he and the other Z-fighters are suppressing their ki a great deal that he should still be able to sense their presence as well... and he can't sense anyone!

_What's going on here?_ He questions. _I should be able to sense someone! Is something blocking off ki in this place?_

Trunks' thoughts are interrupted by the presence of a new, very powerful ki that had just appeared right behind him. Trunks dodges the ki blast that was suddenly thrown at his back, and turns around to look at the perpetrator of the surprise attack, and what he sees surprises him greatly.

A tall, very muscular man greets Trunks with eyes of blue that send chills down his spine. The man has dark blue skin and has short, spiky dirty orange hair that is held up by a purple headband and he wears a black tunic along with white, baggy pants tucked into his half and half yellow and black boots. Two objects particularly catch the demi-saiyan's attention; one is a very heavy looking sword in its sheath around the man's waist; the other is a golden, tooth-like pendant that is hanging around the man's neck.

"Ah, you must be one of Goku's friends," the man finally says, causing Trunks' eyes to widen slightly at that fact that he knows who Goku is. "No mere human should have been able to dodge that blast from such a close proximity."

Trunks takes a few moments for this new presence to sink in before he regains his composure. "You must be that ki Goku felt earlier," he responds to the new threat. He can tell from this creature's ki signature that he is not a friend. He then smirks after feeling how small the ki is. "The way Goku was going on about it made it seem like you could have killed even him, but now I realize that I can easily take care of you."

However, instead of becoming surprised by Trunks' statement, the alien merely laughs before returning the smirk. "Oh please, this isn't even close to my full power," he gloats. He then crouches down into a powering up stance and throws his arms back, creating a gust of wind as he starts to raise his ki. Winds swirl around the man and a white aura explodes around him as he continues to power up. His ki increases steadily until it finally levels off and the winds die down, the white aura continuing to surround him.

"Well , what now kid?" The man taunts. "You have no chance of defeating me now!"

Trunks, while surprised at how much power the alien was hiding, isn't worried in the slightest. _I'll only need to be at the lowest transformed state. This should be a piece of cake!_ Trunks smirks back at the alien and answers his challenge. "Ha!" he says mockingly. "How little do you know? I've been suppressing my power the entire time!" This statement gets a shocked response from the alien he's facing. "And you know what else?" Trunks continues, "I don't even need to use very much of my true power to take you down!"

To say the alien is stunned is an understatement. "What?!" he exclaims. "You're bluffing!"

Trunks raises an eyebrow at the alien. "Oh _am_ I?" he responds. He then starts powering up in a similar manner that the alien did. Heavy winds start to surround the adult demi-saiyan and soon a golden aura surrounds him as he eases into the normal super saiyan transformation. His eyes turn teal and his hair spikes up and turns gold without any flickering, showing how easily the transformation was achieved for the demi-saiyan. As the winds die down and his ki makes the normal jump for a super saiyan before leveling off, Trunks can't help but smirk at the baffled expression that comes across the aliens face.

"You're a saiyan?!" he stutters out. "I thought they were all extinct except for Goku." After a few moments however, the alien regains his composure, and after feeling Trunks' ki, he wears a smug expression. "Well I must say you are impressive. You're definitely stronger than me at the moment. However, you're not much stronger and I have thousands of years of experience on you so I should still have control."

"We'll see about that!" Trunks responds, flaring his aura a little and drawing out some more power. He then charges the alien at full speed with a punch to the face, which connects due to the fact that the alien had underestimated the demi-saiyan's speed. This sends him staggering back and Trunks immediately takes advantage of the alien being off balance. He launches a combo of punches and kicks with flawless form thanks to the extensive training with Pan and Goken back in his own timeline, and finishes off the combo with a roundhouse kick to the alien's left side, which sends him flying through the air and into the nearby lake.

The alien soon emerges from the depths of the lake, a few scratches and bruises forming in the places that he was hit. He smirks at Trunks as he crosses his arms. "I seem to have underestimated you, saiyan," he says. He then unsheathes his sword and holds it out in front of him. "Let's see how you do against this!" With that being said, he now charges Trunks, sword in hand, and starts an offensive of his own, swinging the sword with precision that takes years of experience to master.

Trunks quickly goes on his defensive, using his arm to block the attacks. While he knows the sword won't be able to break his skin in his super saiyan form, the strikes that connect still have enough power to bruise his forearm and each individual blow hurts. Knowing that he can't keep up this defensive forever, Trunks switches tactics and waits for him to try for a strike to the head. Soon, the alien gives him what he's looking for and before the sword can strike his face, Trunks catches it using both hands. Flaring up his aura and drawing from his super saiyan strength, Trunks shatters the sword and throws the remains to the side, leaving the alien with a crestfallen face holding only the handle and a small piece of the sword that remains of the once grand sword.

"Satsuriku!" The alien cries angrily. "You bastard! I've had Satsuriku for over three thousand years! That's it! No more playing around! This is personal now! I originally was going to let Master Bojack kill you, but now I think I'll do it myself! Prepare for my ultimate power!"

The gold tooth-like pendant around the alien's neck suddenly starts glowing and spinning. Suddenly, a bright green aura surrounds the alien and his ki starts to increase at a fast rate. This continues for a few moments until suddenly, with a yell from the alien, the aura goes blinding bright. As soon as the bright aura goes away, the appearance of the alien is different, as if he just underwent a transformation.

The alien now has lime green skin and his hair turned dark red. The green, glowing aura radiates power and his ki plateaus at a level about two times that of Cell's second form.

Trunks powers up along with the alien as he powers up, but the demi-saiyan becomes increasingly worried as the aliens ki continues to rise. _Crap! This will be a lot harder than I thought… _Trunks immediately starts to power up to his max. As his ki levels off, Trunks is shocked to find that his ki is only a tad stronger than that of the alien.

"Ah," the alien sighs in contentment. "It feels so good to be able to use my full power!" Suddenly, without any warning, he charges Trunks at a speed that he can barely keep up with. Stunned by both the suddenness of the attack and the speed, Trunks is unable to dodge the initial punch, getting knocked back by the force of it. Upon realizing how strong the blow was, Trunks immediately puts up a defense against the aliens subsequent assault, now having more success parrying the blows being launched at him; however, it is taking quite a bit of energy to parry and the experience of the alien is starting to show through, as he seems to be conserving a bit of energy, yet throwing punches and kicks at a fast enough pace where all Trunks can do is defend. While Trunks has improved vastly over the last three years in technique, the alien has a much different fighting style that he doesn't recognize at all, causing him to be thrown off balance as well.

Finally, the alien smirks as he sees his opportunity arise. He has been attempting to lull Trunks into a sense of security by punching and kicking in a simple routine. He finally succeeds in making Trunks drop his guard a little, but before Trunks has the chance to counter attack, the aliens suddenly switches up his style, dropping the now familiar routine that Trunks had grown accustomed to. Instead of throwing a punch to his head followed almost immediately by a kick to his shins, the alien fakes the punch to the head instead punching him right into the side with his opposite hand. This sends Trunks staggering to the side, and while the demi-saiyan is off balance, the alien uses his speed to get to the other side of the staggering demi-saiyan and delivers a devastating roundhouse kick to the back of the neck from the side opposite of his momentum. This sends a loud crack sounding throughout the arena and sends the demi-saiyan sprawling across the field right into the lake, unconscious.

The alien wipes his hands against each other and smirks looking over at the rippling water of the lake. "One more saiyan gone from the universe," he comments. Before he has a chance to fly away to report of his completed mission to his boss however, a loud bang echoes through the room and he suddenly feels two more kis coming from behind him. Before he gets the chance to turn around he is hit from behind by a female alien with the same lime green skin and dark red hair that he has, and they both go tumbling across the field. Another green skinned alien flies into the room as well, but this one is the familiar green skinned Namekian that we all know.

"Trunks!" Piccolo cries out. He uses the time that both aliens are on the ground to search out Trunks' ki and is shocked to find that he is unconscious in the lake. He immediately dives into the water and heads towards Trunks' diminishing ki and finally finds the demi-saiyan from the future lying face down in a patch of seaweed on the bottom of the lake. Piccolo grabs the demi-saiyan by the waist and drags him up to the surface and lays him in the grass by the edge of the lake. He then proceeds to take out a green bean that he had in his purple gi.

"You're lucky I always have a senzu on me Trunks," he mutters to the unconscious demi-saiyan. By the look of his neck, a few bones were broken where the blow hit, most likely making him a quadriplegic. Piccolo puts the magical bean into Trunks' mouth and forces him to chew and swallow the bean. Quickly, a few popping sounds are heard and Trunks is completely healed. Soon, the demi-saiyan starts to stir and when he opens his eyes, all he can see is the back of the Namekian warrior that saved him.

"P-piccolo?" Trunks mutters.

"Get up Trunks," Piccolo commands the demi-saiyan sternly, not bothering to turn to face him. "The fight's not over yet. You were somehow badly injured by that bigger alien over there." He points to the male alien who Trunks was fighting before. Both aliens now seem to be back on their feet. The female alien is ready to attack, but the male alien is gaping at the sight of Trunks awake, who he thought he killed. "You should have gotten a boost in power from your injury, so you should be able to take the big alien. As for me, I'll finish cleaning up the mess by taking out the female alien right next to him." As soon as he's done speaking, the female alien charges Piccolo and they go at it once more.

Trunks can't help but observe the battle that Piccolo is fighting as he gets up. It seems like Piccolo definitely has the advantage. He is overwhelming the alien with his superior power and technique; whereas the alien Trunks is fighting has superior technique and experience, it seems like the female alien doesn't have much technique at all. This being the case, Piccolo is easily able to overwhelm the alien with combos and ki techniques that she can't defend against.

Finally Trunks turns his attention to the alien that knocked him out and smirks at his still gaping expression. The demi-saiyan now feels a lot more confident as he indeed did get a significant power boost from healing from his injury. He also now knows the alien's fighting style and is now prepared for a change up. Trunks starts to power up to his new max right away. Powerful winds start to swirl around the demi-saiyan as his hair spikes up and turns from lavender to gold and his eyes from a deep blue to teal once more. A golden aura bursts forth from the demi-saiyan as his ki skyrockets. Suddenly, he feels that new power that he just gained and pushes it out with a yell. Finally, the golden aura becomes less violent and the winds stop swirling around him as his ki levels off at a level now equivalent to what Vegeta showed earlier during his fight with Goku in the semi-finals.

The alien looks at Trunks with a combination of awe and fear as the demi-saiyan is now vastly superior in strength. He then turns around at the sound of a female scream to see his female comrade falling from the sky unconscious. He looks back at Trunks and then takes off towards his fallen comrade. Trunks immediately makes an attempt to follow him, but he cannot catch up in time to stop the alien from catching his teammate from the sky. The alien then turns to Trunks and smirks.

"You win this round saiyan, but once Master Bojack shows up, you will stand no chance!" Before Trunks or Piccolo can even compute these words, the alien puts the unconscious alien over his shoulder and then puts two fingers to his head and instant transmits out of the arena, leaving two incredibly stupefied Z-fighters.

Finally, after processing what just transpired, Trunks finally speaks up. "He can do instant transmission?!" he says, still shocked.

"So it would seem…" Piccolo responds in a low tone. "That at least explains how they got to Earth…"

"What do we do now Piccolo?" Trunks inquires his green ally. "Do you think that this 'Bojack' will be strong?"

"I believe so Trunks." Piccolo grimly replies, his face hardening. "Neither of those two that we fought were the ki that Goku, Gohan, and I sensed. I've come to think that this 'Bojack' they speak of is that ki; it was much stronger than those two."

Trunks slowly nods, his teal eyes hard. "I guess that means that we'll need to team up on him. What do you think happened to Goku and Gohan? I still can't feel either of them."

"I'm sure they're going through similar situations that we went through, fighting henchmen of this 'Bojack,' maybe even the leader himself." Piccolo answers. "As far as the disappearance of their ki, somehow I think Bojack is blocking the ki readings in each of the arenas separately. Proof of this was when I broke through to this arena. You had obviously been fighting even though I couldn't feel you up to that point. I have a feeling Goku and Gohan are in similar situations."

Trunks once again nods. "Alright, then we should go around here and try to break into the next arena over then and see if we can find either Goku or Gohan."

"Yes, that would be the best course of action." Piccolo agrees. "Alright, since my arena was where that hole in the wall is over there," he points to the hole to the left of them, "that means the next arena should be on the other side of the wall straight across from it. Let's go!" With that, the two Z-warriors take flight towards the other side of the arena to break into the next arena over where they hope to find Goku or Gohan with some answers to the many questions still in their heads.

* * *

~Battle Dome: Main Arena~

"Attention everyone! It appears we are having some technical difficulties with our cameras," the announcer's voice booms on the PA system calling out to the now impatient crowd. "Please remain patient as this situation gets dealt with. We will put up footage as soon as it is available. Thank you for your patience in this matter."

A series of 'boos' and jeers start to echo throughout the Battle Dome. A half-hour has passed since the launch of the rockets and the screens that are supposed to show coverage of the finals are still blank. People are fed up with the waiting as it costs extra to get into the Battle Dome, and now there are no fights to watch! It's a miracle that no riots have broken out yet... although Chichi seems like she's about to start one.

"COMMON ALREADY!" the Son matron shouts. She finally has lost her patience. It's a miracle that it's lasted this long. "What's the hold up?! My son and husband are fighting out there!"

Bulma makes an attempt to do the impossible: calm Chichi Son down. "Ch-chichi... c-calm d-down-"

"I AM CALM!" she shrieks back.

As Chichi continues to shout her voice to the heavens, everyone sitting around her attempts to back away trembling. All of this noise also ends up waking up the sleeping infant in the woman's arms, and he looks as if he's in the verge of tears. However, he suddenly calms down and turns his head over towards Goken. His expression immediately brightens and he extends his chubby little arms towards the future chibi.

Goken is looking up at his furious grandmother. Unlike the rest of the crowd, he and his sister are deriving amusement from this display. They've seen worse from their grandmother this past week when their daddy and grandpa got in trouble for being late for dinner. Everyone should be thankful that she left her frying pan of Armageddon at home.

Finally, Goken notices his infant uncle. He has the most irresistible look on his face! He has glassy eyes that are filled with unshed tears, yet he has a smile stretched across his cute little face and his arms extended towards his nephew. The chibi from the future is shocked that he hasn't started crying yet with the person holding him shouting at the top of her lungs. It seems like Chichi hasn't noticed that her son is awake yet, as she makes no move to quiet her shouts. Goken puts on the famous Son grin, and since it seems like Chichi won't be stopping anytime soon, he quickly, yet gently takes his infant uncle from her grasp.

As soon as she feels that her son isn't in her arms anymore, Chichi immediately stops shouting and starts looking around for him, fire in her eyes intended for the bastard that took him. Once she sees that he's in her grandson's arms however, her expression softens considerably.

"Goken sweety, if you wanted to hold Goten why didn't you just ask?" the Son matron asks her grandson sweetly, a complete 180 from seconds ago causing everyone around her besides Goken and Pan to face fault at how quickly her mood changed.

"But g-mother," Goken answers innocently, his partial slip unnoticed. "You should have seen him! He had the cutest expression on his face and he was stretching his arms towards me like he does for daddy! I couldn't have said no!"

"Besides," Pan adds, trying to get her opinion in, "He wouldn't have been able to get your attention anyways since you were shouting really loudly."

Chichi's expression changes to one that clearly says 'what do you mean by that' and she's about to say something along those lines as well when the sound of happy cooing from her son fills her ears. She sighs before putting on a smile. "Well he seems happy. Okay, just tell me please before you take him next time. You had me worried silly!"

Goken quickly nods, wanting to end this conversation as quickly as possible. He then turns his attention back to his infant uncle who is getting comfortable in his nephew's arms. Goken rubs his head affectionately against the infants forehead, illiciting giggles from the latter and a huge grin from the former.

Pan observes the interactions between her brother and her infant uncle as Goken continues to play with him. She can't help but notice the similarities between the way Goten reacts to her brother and how he reacts to her father. She was the first to notice the infant was awake in his mother's arms and she never took her eyes off of him. He definitely looked like he was about to cry, yet he stopped as if he noticed something and turned his head towards her brother. He then put on a smile and started extending his arms towards him, as if his presence was comforting.

The strange thing is that the only person Goten ever reacts that strongly to is his brother. Pan finds is odd that he would react the same way to her brother as well since it has been proven over the past week that Gohan and Goten have a unique bond that is insanely tight. The eleven-year-old can't help but wonder why this this is. Is it because Goken acts so much like his father? Whatever it is, Goten seems to have a unique attachment to her brother as well.

In the meantime, the video screens still remain blank, much to the anger and annoyance of the crowd. However, the Z-warriors start to worry as something doesn't seem right. For the past thirty minutes, they haven't been able to sense anyone outside of the Main Arena, including their friends fighting in the finals.

Finally, Krillin voices his concerns."Hey guys, don't you think it's odd that we can't feel the presence of Goku, Gohan, Piccolo or Trunks anywhere?" The bald monk inquires the group. "I mean I know they're suppressing their real strength a ton just so they don't hurt the Intergalactic fighters too badly, but we should still be able to feel them faintly. It's not like these side arenas are that far away."

"You have a good point Krillin." Tien replies to the short monk. "We should be able to get a least a small reading."

"What does this mean?" Yamcha asks the group of Z-warriors

"Someone's blocking all of the ki in a certain area." Master Roshi adds his two cents. The old man has become so notorious within the group to be an old lecher that one forgets that he is a master of ki. "I'm certain of it. There is absolutely no reason that we shouldn't be able to feel them otherwise. Someone or something must want to keep us from knowing what is going on in those arenas. I have a feeling that that is why the cameras seem to be out."

"Master Roshi's right!" Krillin suddenly concludes, making all of the Z-warriors' attention fall on the bald monk. "Something is going on in there! Do you think it could have something to do with that dark ki that Goku told us abo–" *BANG*

Krillin is abruptly cut off by an incredible bang and the whole dome starts shaking, knocking the crowd off balance and sending them to the ground. This sends a mass panic throughout the crowd and everyone desperately tries to get up only to be knocked back down by another loud bang, making the walls shake once again. This time the shaking doesn't stop and the ground starts shaking violently as if a massive earthquake has hit. This causes heightened panic to spred and everyone but the Z-gang doubles their efforts to get up and get to the exits. Thankfully, the designer of the building made the exits big enough so that everyone can get out quickly.

Now the only ones left in the arena are the Z-fighters. Ever since the second boom, an incredibly strong ki hit the senses of the Z-warriors. It is increasing at a ridiculous rate without any signs of stopping soon. There are two other kis present, one that is very strong as well, but is easily dwarfed by the first ki and another fading ki, most likely someone dying.

"W-woah..." Krillin stutters, awed by the power radiating off of the giant ki. "Insane..."

"Yeah... no kidding..." Yamcha adds.

"WILL SOMEBODY PLEASE TELL ME WHAT'S GOING ON?!" Chichi shouts, getting everyone out of their stupor.

"Yeah!" Bulma adds angrily "Not all of us can sense ki you know!"

Krillin is about to reply to both angry women when suddenly, the ki that was fading disappears into nothingness and the ridiculously large ki spikes and starts increasing even more rapidly if that's possible as another loud bang echoes through the dome and the walls start shaking more violently, most likely from the powering up of the large ki. Miraculously though, the walls seem to be holding up.

The Z-warriors try to figure out what is going on and then collectively gasp as they suddenly recognize who that dying ki belonged to.

"N-no..." Pan quietly stutters, eyes brimming with tears. "I-it can't be... not him..." The little girl from the future collapses from the shock and starts freely bawling her eyes out as she mourns the loss of someone incredibly dear to her.

* * *

Translations:

chibi- cute child, dwarf

ki- energy

niisan- older brother (informal)


	10. Mission Complete

**A/N: Hey hey! It's finally here! The confrontation with Bojack and his gang!**

**This chapter really explains a lot of the questions that the last chapter left with. It really is mostly battles and is told for the majority of the time from Gohan's view.**

**As always, your reviews and comments are extremely helpful in aiding me with my writing. I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

"dialogue"

_thoughts_

_"telepathic communication"_

~change in setting~

*action*

**flashback**

* * *

Chapter 9: Mission Complete

~Battle Dome: Northern Arena, Intergalactic Tournament Grounds, Yahoi Island, Age 768~

Gohan is currently flying over a room in his rocket that looks like a life sized version of a child's toy box. He continues to look at the sight with a look of both confusion and awe. The arena is designed as if it were child's room with chessboard style floor and blue walls; there are multiple giant stuffed animals in one corner of the arena with a giant purple bean bag chair and there are giant bouncy balls that are taller than the chibi demi-saiyan; there is a tower of blocks on the opposite side of the room and there is even a gigantic coo-coo clock that looks more like a skyscraper to Gohan.

_Am I supposed to fight here? _He silently ponders. Gohan's thoughts are interrupted when his rocket suddenly explodes out of nowhere, making the young demi-saiyan fall out of the sky. Luckily, he falls on the nice, fluffy bean bag chair, cushioning his landing.

Something that looks like a stray soap bubble starts floating over towards the demi-saiyan and pops right in his face, making him jump in surprise. Once Gohan regains his composure, he realizes that someone is there as he senses another ki in the room.

He initially thinks it the Intergalactic Fighter that he's supposed to fight as the ki is relatively weak, but after another evaluation of the ki, he finds that the ki is far too dark to be a normal human. He searches for the ki frantically and finds nothing. He turns around and suddenly notices that one of the giant blocks is flying right at him! The demi-saiyan quickly dodges out of the way only to see that some of the bouncy balls are now flying at him.

Soon, more blocks start flying right at the demi-saiyan as if they were possessed. Gohan continues to dodge and avoid blocks until he notices that the two arms of the coo-coo clock are spinning uncontrollably. Suddenly, both pointy arms snap off and start heading towards the demi-saiyan as if they were spears. Fed up with all of the dodging, Gohan flares his aura around him as the hands approach, disintegrating them on contact.

As Gohan lets his aura fade, he looks up towards the ceiling where he last felt the strange ki and he finally sees the cause of all of the strange things that have been going on as the figure now has yet another giant block hovering next to it. The figure appears to be an alien boy, no bigger than Gohan with dark blue skin. He has a pink turban on his head that hides his ears along with a red long sleeved tunic. He wears white baggy pants that are tucked in half and half black and yellow boots. Gohan notices a strange pendant around his neck that appears to be glowing at the moment. He figures that it is this pendant that allows him to use his apparent psychic powers.

Gohan glares at the alien who is grinning at him, now floating the block in front of him tauntingly. The pendant on his neck starts spinning and the block now shoots directly towards the demi-saiyan. Gohan merely stands his ground as the block approaches and charges a bit of ki into one of his fists. As soon as the block is in range, he punches it with his ki enhanced fist and shatters the block into millions of pieces. The alien just continues to smirk evilly at Gohan and the demi-saiyan fixes his glare back on his blue skinned foe.

"Well, you aren't Goku, although you certainly look like him," The alien finally says after a lengthy stare down between the two. "You must be his son! Oh this is a bonus!"

Gohan is thrown off by the fact that this alien he's never seen before knows about his father. After thinking for a moment however, he realizes that he really shouldn't be. It seems that every threat that comes to the Earth is connected to his dad. He just could never seem to comprehend how his father has done _anything_ to draw all of these threats to him. It's not like he ever has done anything to deserve it! He shakes his head as he dismisses these thoughts as he remembers that he needs to deal with the new threat in front of him.

"You seem to know my father, but who are you and why are you after him?" Gohan inquires the blue alien. He really doesn't expect him to tell him anything but he figures to ask him anyways on the off chance that he does.

As predicted, the alien merely laughs at the now flustered demi-saiyan. "You honestly believe I will tell you that?" He responds cockily. He then holds his arms in front of him with his hands spread out and the pendant on his neck starts glowing and spinning again. Gohan immediately gets into a defensive stance as he is expecting another flying object to come towards him. He is shocked however when instead he sees the setting start to fade away. The walls start to fade away from the top down and soon, all of the giant toys start to fade away. Finally, the whole room disappears and a much bigger area is revealed.

The scene is dark; it is as if it is nighttime. The two are currently now floating above what appears to be a forest right on the outskirts of some city that is now in ruins. Skyscrapers line the area in front of Gohan and it appears as if it goes on for miles, which he knows can't actually be the case. This makes him wonder if this alien is trying to deceive him into a false sense of open space in order to trap him in a corner. The preteen has already concluded that despite his childish appearance, this alien is vastly advanced when it comes to psychic powers.

"Alright you've got my attention!" Gohan declares, his glare continuing to stare down the alien. "What do you want from me?"

The alien, much to Gohan's annoyance, cackles again before he answers the demi-saiyan. "What do I want from you?" he responds. "I want you dead!" After this bold declaration, the alien send a mental attack at Gohan.

Gohan is pushed back by a sudden invisible wave. Although it's not much, he was not expecting the sudden attack and was off guard for a moment. The small alien takes this opportunity to flee the scene. He obviously is skilled with mental abilities, but when it comes to physical strength, he knew he was outclassed by far so he decided against starting a physical confrontation with the demi-saiyan.

Of course he also had an ulterior motive for fleeing as well. _He he, after that declaration, he is sure to follow me right into my trap! Master Bojack will have fun drawing out Goku by torturing his son!_

As the blue warrior predicted, Gohan soon was hot on his tail. A smirk found its way to his face as he continued to fly into the ruins of the long forgotten city on his home planet. Since this alien could use his mind to manipulate matter to change the appearance of a setting, he had opted to use an image of his old home town from back on the planet Hera; thus, he had the advantage of familiarity. The planet had a similar composition to that of Earth, except there it was always night. The star that the planet orbited would forever shine its light on only half of the planet since, unlike Earth it only rotated at the same pace that it orbited the star; the time of a Hera day is the same as a Hera year. This made it so that the same side of the planet was receiving the star's rays at all times; therefore, half of the planet would be in eternal night while the other in eternal day.

After a little while, the alien suddenly drops from the sky and heads toward what looks to be a palace. Gohan flows and drops down to the ground, intending to get the alien to talk when he notices something strange. The alien is kneeling in front of the palace's front balcony, as if he were in the presence of a king. This puzzles Gohan as he doesn't see or sense anyone inside of the palace.

Gohan then witnesses something even stranger. Two more aliens suddenly pop out of seemingly nowhere, right in front of the palace. Unlike their little blue counterpart however, they both have lime green skin and blood red hair, although they both wear the same pendant around their necks as the little guy does. The bigger alien is carrying a slightly shorter, thinner one, which Gohan actually believes to be a female. She appears to be in really bad shape, as if she were fighting a much better opponent than herself.

_Of course! They must have fought dad, Mr. Piccolo, and Trunks! But how come I didn't feel them fighting? All I could feel is the little one… wait! That little one has psychic powers! _He _must be blocking off ki signals from places other than this arena. _Gohan then notices that the bigger green alien in now kneeling as well. _Why are they both kneeling? Nobody's…_ Gohan's thoughts are cut off by the sudden presence of an incredibly dark, yet familiar ki inside of the palace, making its way outside. _That it! That's the ki I've been feeling since the rebellion of Hell!_

Gohan gulps as he feels how strong the ki is as it continues its journey outside of the palace. Gohan never thought of how strong it actually was before, but now that he is getting a constant signal, he can get a much better picture. Judging by the strength of the ki signal, he figures that even with his dad's vast improvement, that he himself is the only one strong enough to beat it, at that makes the demi-saiyan even more nervous.

_It looks like you'll be needing me in this fight!_ A very familiar voice speaks in Gohan's mind.

Gohan is taken aback by the sudden appearance of his inner voice that claims to be his 'saiyan side.' _I only thought you come out when I ascend to the second level! _Gohan exclaims to the voice.

_Well I did, but I noticed that you never ascend anymore!_ The voice responds in an annoyed tone. _So I thought I would come and give you a little 'encouragement.'_

Gohan, even though he finds it extremely annoying that the voice can now invade his thoughts even in his base form, finds it much easier to keep himself under control in the presence of it since he is not flooded with the raw emotion of the second super saiyan transformation. _Just go away. _Gohan responds in a calm tone. _I don't need any encouragement from _you_. I will be perfectly fine on my own, thank you very much._

Gohan's internal argument is interrupted when that powerful ki finally emerges from the palace. This alien is far bigger than even the two new aliens that showed up and he looks as strong as his ki feels. He has dark blue skin like the little alien, has a wave of dirty orange hair that goes all the way to the aliens shoulders and has cruel, cold looking blue eyes that could freeze up the toughest of warriors. He wears an open blue jacket along with the baggy white pants tucked in to the half and half black and yellow boots typical of this group of aliens, along with the atypical gold, tooth-like pendant.

"Bujin!" He shouts in a deep, cold voice that sends shivers down Gohan's spine. He is looking at the small blue alien. "This isn't Goku! Where is he? And Kogu!" The giant alien now glares towards the bigger green skinned alien. "What happened to Zangya and why did you retreat? And where is Bido? Explain yourselves!"

The small alien 'Bujin' is the first to speak up. "Master Bojack," He replies respectfully, with a hint of fear in his voice. "This is Goku's son! He admitted it himself! I found him in my arena I figured the best way to draw Goku here is for you to kill his son! As for Bido, He appears to be fighting Goku as we speak."

Bojack nods at Bujin before extending his arm. He starts gathering ki in his palm and soon, a very potent ki blast is sent right at Zangya's unconscious body, decimating it upon impact.

Kogu and Bujin both look fearfully at their master and Gohan looks at him in disbelief as he just killed one of his own comrades. "That is what she deserves for failing in her task!" Bojack announces to the remaining two aliens. "She was supposed to calibrate those rockets so that Goku landed in _this _arena! We're lucky we got his son here so that we can draw him to us! Not only that, but she failed to even hurt her opponent that she was supposed to kill! I have no use for such worthless servants! In fact," Bojack now extends his hand towards the remaining green skinned alien, making him cower in fear. "Kogu, you better have a good explanation for abandoning your duty as well!"

Kogu gulps before stating his reasons. "M-mas-ster Boj-jack," he stutters. "H-he was st-stronger th-than m-m-me! I would have g-got-tten k-killed!"

Bojack looks at his henchman with an expression of disgust. He then charges a ki blast in his hand. "Well now you will get killed here! I have no use for such a weakling as a servant!" Bojack announces before firing the blast at his green-skinned servant, obliterating him.

Gohan looks over the whole scene with shock clearly written in his face. _This guy is as cruel and ruthless as Frieza! How can he kill his own allies?! And that guy actually felt really strong, yet he killed him like it was nothing! How strong is this guy?!_

"Well Bujin," Bojack now addresses the remaining alien. "You saved yourself by bringing Goku's son here. Now, let up the ki field in the Eastern arena so that Goku can sense his son getting killed! Get Bido to follow him back here so that you both can take care of the stragglers. Since Kogu and Zangya both failed, we need to kill those who they failed to."

"Not if _I_ have a say in it!" Gohan finally speaks up, tried of standing by while they both plot their revenge against his father. He immediately transforms into a super saiyan effortlessly and then starts to increase his power, drawing a golden aura around him. The winds start to swirl around the demi-sayian at a very strong pace and the dust on the ground surrounds him, making him look like a golden tornado. The arena starts shaking as his ki continues to increase. Finally, his aura relaxes along with the winds and his ki plateaus at the highest level possible for the regular super saiyan transformation.

_Come on, a little more and I'll be free! _The voice says to Gohan in his head.

_There's no way I'm letting you out again!_ Gohan answers back. _I need my head for this!_

_Come on, _the voice coaxes his host. _You know you need me in this fight! He's still stronger than you!_

_No he's not! _Gohan argues.

_Come on, you don't think that he's hiding his true power?_ The voice reasons. _Do you remember how the other two aliens had green skin? I bet that unleashes their true power just like the super saiyan transformation!_

_I don't care!_ Gohan shouts back. _I won't let him get to that point!_

_Tsk tsk. Alright, but I warned you, _The voice finally gives in. _Don't come crying to me when you fail your father _yet again_!_

Gohan outwardly growls at his inner voice that always seems to want to come out and control him. Bojack looks at the now golden saiyan chibi with an expression of surprise, which changes to one of amusement.

"Maybe this will be more fun than I previously thought." he outwardly muses. He then speaks louder. "Well child, let's see if you can back up those words!" He charges Gohan at a speed inconceivable to most, but to Gohan, it's not fast at all. Bojack attempts to punch the demi-saiyan right in the face, but is shocked to find that Gohan dodged the attack fairly easily. The super saiyan takes advantage of this momentary lapse from Bojack and strikes him in the right cheek with a left punch. This sends Bojack stumbling to the side and he clutches his check with an expression of awe.

_That actually _hurt_! _The alien silently seethes. _No one has _ever _been able to hurt me before! I may have underestimated this kid. Perhaps I should take this fight more seriously._Bojack is drawn from his thoughts when Gohan charges him, sending the alien on the defensive. Gohan shreds the evil alien's defenses with his incredibly quick and powerful blows that hit the alien with extreme precision.

This continues for a while, Bojack getting gradually more and more banged up as Gohan continues his assault since he cannot keep up with the speed of the young demi-saiyan and finally Gohan gives the finishing blow. He fakes a punch directly to Bojack's side, making the alien instinctively drop his guard to cover that side and Gohan gives him an uppercut to the jaw with his opposite fist, sending him flying backwards through the air until he lands back on the ground with a 'thud.' Bojack's jacket is now ripped to shreds and there are now multiple bruises forming all over the alien and some blood shed as well. Gohan finally pauses to give himself a breather.

As Bojack gets back to his feet, Gohan is about to charge him again when all of a sudden, he feels like he is trapped by something. Gohan struggles to get loose, but can't break the bind. Soon, he starts to feel his power drain away as if it is being suctioned out of him. Gohan manages to look down at his body and notices that he's wrapped in these purple shining wires. He looks around for the source of these wires and notices that they are extending from the arms of Bujin.

"Ha ha!" The tiny alien laughs. "Struggle all you want! It will only drain your power quicker!"

"Good work Bujin," Bojack says in a rare comment of praise. "This will definitely draw Goku here."

"You cheater!" Gohan manages to huff out. The wires are squeezing him so tightly that he is struggling to breathe at the moment. "Fight fair!"

Bojack merely laughs maniacally at Gohan's expense. "I don't care about fair!" He says through his laughs. "I only care about getting what I want! I must say that you surprised me young saiyan. You're a lot stronger that I thought. You even managed to rough me up a little, but you will soon die like the rest of those that try to defy me. Bujin, keep him in the bind until Goku and Bido get here, that is, if he manages to stay conscious long enough!" He then laughs once more and turns around to go back into the palace, leaving the young demi-sayian to suffer at the mercy of the ki draining binds he's in.

Gohan continues to struggle against the bind, much to Bujin's amusement. Soon, Gohan doesn't have enough ki to sustain the super saiyan transformation, despite his superior control. He is about to give up when he feels the binds unwind themselves from around him followed by a 'thud' in the background. Gohan, having almost no excess ki left, falls backwards only to be caught in two strong arms. He reaches out his sense and senses two new kis that make the chibi smile. The demi-saiyan looks up and sees the face of Piccolo looking down at him.

"You alright kid?" He asks, showing concern that he only shows for Gohan. The demi-saiyan merely nods before passing out from ki exhaustion, a smile gracing his lips.

Piccolo sets Gohan down on the ground and looks over to where Trunks kicked the alien away. The alien seems to be knocked out from that surprise attack, as he is laying on the ground motionless. _That will buy us some time for Gohan to recover_. He silently ponders. Then Piccolo notices a new ki, a much stronger ki. He turns his head towards the palace-like structure and notices another blue alien, only much bigger, smirking at them.

"Well, well, well," Bojack calmly states. "It looks like the cavalry has arrived. You must be the two that defeated Zangya and Kogu. I must say that it is rather embarrassing that two Hera elites could be beaten by a Namek and a Saiyan." He looks at them with disgust before a smirk returns to his face. "But alas, you will not have as much luck with me. You should feel honored! I normally don't waste my energy on trash such as yourselves."

Both Piccolo and Trunks scowl at the insult. They then both summon their auras, both powering up to their max. Both Z-warriors know they would have no chance against him one-on-one, so they both charge Bojack together. The giant alien tries fending them both off at once, but is surprised at how good their teamwork is. Trunks is attacking his left side while Piccolo is attacking his right. Even though they both are a good deal weaker than him, their attacks are so well coordinated that he doesn't have any time to go on the offensive; this only serves to frustrate the alien greatly.

Finally, after a long assault by the duo of Trunks and Piccolo, Bojack manages to swat Trunks away. He then quickly focuses his attention of Piccolo and starts attacking him. Bojack chose the wrong one to attack however as Piccolo is used to going against an opponent far stronger than himself since he has been training with Goku and Gohan for the last nine months every day, so he can hold his own quite well against Bojack. He inwardly smirks. This is nothing compared to a super saiyan 2 Gohan!

Bojack notices that he not making much progress on the Namekian and decides to ditch him in favor of Trunks. Bojack gives Piccolo a quick punch to the jaw that sends the Namekian stumbling backwards. He then heads for Trunks who has recovered from Bojack's initial hit to get him away. Bojack finds himself having a lot more success on the demi-saiyan and starts to pummel Trunks mercilessly until Piccolo recovers and gets into the fray again. This time however, the Z-duo can only stalemate Bojack together thanks to the little beating that Trunks received.

* * *

The battle goes on for a while, with each party in a stalemate. Slowly, Gohan stirs from his slumber and wakes up feeling groggy. As the chibi tries to rub the sleep from his eyes, he feels three kis battling it out. He immediately blinks his eyes open, now wide and alert. He looks towards where he can feel the three kis and looks just in time to see Bojack land a good punch on Trunks in the side, sending him flying to the left. It appears that he has taken quite a bit of damage and he drops his super saiyan transformation, not having enough ki to sustain it. He then sees Piccolo go after Bojack's head only to get the attack parried. He then takes a nasty hit from Bojack right in the solar plexus, making him cough up blood and then fly backwards into the ground.

"Mr Piccolo! Trunks!" the young demi-saiyan cries out to his sensei and good friend. He flies over Piccolo first since he is closer and makes sure he's okay.

Piccolo looks to be down for the count! He is still conscious, but his body is battered and bloody. His gi is ripped in multiple places and his eyes are closed in obvious pain as he winces at the littlest movement. "Gohan… I'm done… You have to take it from here kid…"

Gohan is struggling to fight back tears at the sight of his sensei. "M-mr. Pic-ccolo…"

"Gohan," Piccolo weakly says, coughing up blood before he continues. "I'm proud of you kid… I know you can do it! Take him out for me and everyone else… be a hero again…" with those last words, Piccolo loses his grip on the realm of consciousness, the pain being too much to bear.

"MR. PICCOLO!" Gohan cries as he finally lets his tears fall. His sensei may not be dead, but he is in critical condition, and he swears that Bojack will pay for that! Before he goes off to fight the blue skinned menace however, he rushes over to Trunks, who looks like he's already passed out. This makes his blood boil. He's not even from this timeline and he had to suffer! Well no more!

_Gohan, release me! _The voice in his head says. _Make Bojack suffer like they have._

Gohan actually ponders the thought for a moment and is about to give in when all of a sudden, there's an explosion, and through one of the walls in the distance flies a very mangled body followed by what looks to be a golden bullet. The mangled body lands right at Bojack's feet, and the golden bullet lands right next to Gohan.

It takes a few moments for the demi-saiyan to regain his composure from the sudden intrusion, but when he does, he finally recognizes the golden bullet. A huge grin appears on the chibis face at the sight of the one person he trusts above all else; the one person that gives him enough confidence to be brave; the one person he desperately needs at this moment.

His father.

"Daddy!" Gohan cries, rushing his father and giving him a huge hug. Goku's stoic face softens slightly at his son's gesture and he returns the hug wholeheartedly.

As soon as Goku lets go of his son, he looks around the area and sees the damage that has taken place. He starts to growl at the sight of his unconscious friends and then he glares daggers at Bojack, who is wearing a proud smirk on his face.

"You did this?" Goku calmly asks the alien, although anger is coating every inch of his voice.

Bojack merely smirks before answering. "So, Goku finally decides to show up." Bojack then looks at his mangled lime green skinned comrade. "Well there's no use for him anymore." He then extends his arm and shoots a powerful ki blast at the green skinned alien's body, disintegrating it on the spot.

Goku looks appalled at what just took place. "He was defenseless!" Goku shouts in indignation. "How could you do that to your own guy?!"

Bojack laughs at Goku's reaction. "Oh please!" He answers in dismissal. "He was no use to me anymore. He deserved to die if he couldn't carry out his task."

"You monster!" Goku shouts, quickly firing up his golden aura once again, now powering up to his full power. His ki skyrockets and is now on par with that of the blue skinned alien.

"Gohan!" Goku calls his son, who now has his full attention in his father. "Move Piccolo and Trunks to a safe spot. Then come back here and be ready to take over if I go down."

Normally, Gohan would have countered his father by saying that he won't go down, but the look on Goku's face told him otherwise. It was a face that Gohan has only seen twice before; when he transformed into a super saiyan for the first time on Namek and when the demi-saiyan was torturing Cell during the Cell Games. Gohan decides to listen to his father without question this time, although Gohan is quite confident that his father will take care of Bojack for good. When has he ever failed before?

The demi-saiyan quickly picks up his sensei and since he is so much bigger than Gohan, the chibi has a difficult time carrying him to safety. Eventually though, Gohan is able to put Piccolo right on the outskirts of the ruined city. He then uses instant transmission to get back to the battle scene as quick as possible using his father's ki to lock onto. Gohan is somewhat surprised to see that the battle between Bojack and his father hasn't started yet, but he doesn't think twice about it as he quickly darts over to where Trunks is laying and picks up the older demi-saiyan, flying him away to the same place he flew Piccolo to.

Only after Gohan instant transmissions back to the battle site does Goku initiate the fight with Bojack. At first his they both seem dead even; they were fighting as if they were mirror images of each other. Fists collide with fists, shins with shins, forearms with forearms; both opponents even do a head butt at the same time!

Finally, they both end up clasping hands and they each start to pour out their ki in the struggle for power. A huge electric field starts to surround them as the massive power output is outwardly displayed. The force field continues to grow as both enemies start to pour out more and more of their ki. At the moment it is a complete stalemate: neither of them have the advantage over the other.

Suddenly, Goku smirks and breaks away suddenly, creating a massive boom as the energy field explodes due to the fact that since it's not being supplied with ki anymore it becomes incredibly unstable, but before Goku is caught in the explosion, he instant transmits to where Gohan is and avoids the blast completely, whereas Bojack wasn't so lucky: the blue menace is consumed by the blast. Although Bojack isn't dead, the blast did a lot of damage to the alien, and he is currently laying in a crater, unconscious at the moment.

Goku, panting heavily, looks down at Gohan, who he appeared right next to, and smiles happily. He drops his super saiyan transformation and starts to fall, but Gohan catches him before he hits the ground.

"Gohan… He says tiredly. That struggle with Bojack took every ounce if energy from him; the saiyan's actually surprised that he is still conscious at the moment. "The battle's not over just yet… You, my son… have to finish him off… I think he's still got a little left in the tank and I'm completely wiped."

"Daddy," Gohan whines, shocked at what his father just told him. He was sure that his dad was going to beat Bojack easily, just like he had so many other foes. "How can I beat him if you couldn't? I know I'm stronger, but you're a much better fighter."

"Gohan!" Goku manages to have a strong stern voice despite him being exhausted. "Quit doubting yourself! You have the power! All you have to do is use it!"

It is at this time that Bojack regains consciousness and recovers his composure. No longer is that playful smirk on his face; now it is just contorted in rage. "That's it! You die Goku!" the blue alien shouts in rage. "You and your son both!" the pendant around his neck starts glowing and spinning. Soon, a pale green aura surround Bojack and he is engulfed in a bright light. Finally, the aura dissipates and Bojack now bears lime green skin with blood red hair. His ki completely recovers like he was never hurt and now it is much higher than even Cell's perfect form at its max!

Upon observing this, Goku looks up at his son with a serious expression. "See what I mean Gohan? You are the only one with enough power to defeat him, and you have to ascend in order to do it…"

Gohan looks at his father as if he had told him to kill him right there. "W-what?!" Gohan says, fear clear in his voice. "I can't dad, remember what happened last time? I lost control…"

Goku however shushes his son before he can continue. "Son, that was last time, and you've learned from you mistake haven't you?"

Gohan wanted to answer that his lesson was to never do it again, but he decided against it. Gohan's decision is final and he is not going to go through with it, even if it means defying his father, because he does _not_ want to let that voice loose again! However, he couldn't tell his father that outright so he just nods and mutters a small "yes" to please his father.

Goku smiles up at his son. "Good, now go show him what you're made of! Don't worry about me, I'll be fine as long as you take care of him got it?"

"Right dad!" Gohan replies more confidently.

"Good boy, I'm proud of you son!" Goku praises. This statement causes Gohan to flinch since he knows inside that he doesn't deserve praise, but he advances nonetheless towards the now green alien. Gohan once again transforms into a super saiyan with great ease and powers up to his maximum at normal super saiyan.

_See? What did I tell you?_ The voice inside of Gohan's head starts to speak again. _I told you you would fail without me! Now look, he's stronger than you, and by a good deal too… at least without me._

Gohan tries his best to ignore the voice at the moment as he charges Bojack and starts a battle, going all out. He throws a punch at Bojack's head to start the exchange. Bojack blocks the blow and the fight commences.

* * *

As the fight draws on, it appears to the untrained eye that the two fighting are dead even. A closer look however shows that Bojack is not trying all that hard whereas Gohan is going all out. Gohan notices this and quickly tries to take advantage of the fact that Bojack isn't trying his hardest. He draws a bit from his well of ki and lands a punch quicker than he has been right at Bojack's face, sending him sprawling backwards. Gohan takes this opportunity to retreat and do a technique that he normally doesn't use.

Gohan puts both hand to the sides of his face, palms open and facing out and yells, "Solar Flare!" A bright, blinding light is emitted from the demi-saiyan right at Bojack. The green alien is stunned by this sudden technique and quickly goes to shield his now stinging eyes. Gohan uses this time to charge up a giant Maskenko blast that will blast even Bojack to oblivion!

The demi-saiyan raises his arms above his head and crosses his hands, gathering all of the ki in his being without killing himself. The ball of ki in the palms of his hand grows to about the size of a baseball and doesn't get any bigger, but it does get brighter, signaling that it is getting more and more condensed and concentrated. This blast is designed to have so much driving force that it will break through any sort of defense that Bojack can manage to put up, be it a ki shield or just a ki enhanced guard.

Finally, the Masenko is ready to launch. Luck seems to be on Gohan's side as Bojack still seems distracted from the solar flare. "Masenko, H–"

Right before he can release the blast, Gohan once again becomes entrapped in ki draining wires. Gohan struggle to break free as his ki is getting drained; the demi-saiyan can hear snickering from behind him. Apparently Bujin came to right after Gohan used his solar flare; therefore, it had no effect on the little Hera. Bujin, upon seeing that Gohan was going to kill his master, did what he does best: get in the way.

Apparently luck wasn't on Gohan's side after all.

Bojack finally regains his bearings after the solar flare and sees that Gohan is once again trapped in the ki draining bind of Bujin's. Bojack makes a mental note to keep the little imp around as he has proved most useful as of late. He then starts laughing again. "Very good Bujin!" he praises his little servant. "Once again you have impressed me. Now keep him there so I can kill him now."

Bujin grins evilly and cackles at his master's request, nodding feverishly. Bojack then walks up to the struggling Gohan, who surprisingly hasn't lost too much ki yet.

_Do it now! Release me! _The inner voice demands of Gohan. _I'll be able to break these binds no problem._

_No!_ Gohan responds almost instantly, watching in fear as Bojack slowly makes his way over to him.

_Do it now! _The voice repeats. _You still have enough ki!_

_I said NO!_ Gohan retorts. _I'd rather suffer than release you again._

_You don't have a choice! _The voice responds angrily. _If you don't you won't just suffer, you'll die!_

_I DON'T CARE! _Gohan furiously replies. _Better me die than me risking hurting the ones I love._

_You really are stupid you know that?_ The voice retorts, now irritated. _You realize that by dying, you will be hurting the ones you love right?_

…

_You don't think people are going to miss you? You don't think that people aren't going to mourn you? Think about Goten. He will grow up without a big brother._

_I promised myself that I would protect him at all costs! _Gohan counters. _If that means dying to protect him from you then so be it!_

_When will you realize that I'm just trying to help?! _The voice says, fed up. _I'm your saiyan side, not Frieza!_

_You seem to act a lot like Frieza! _Gohan counters. _You always are trying to take control of my mind in order to fulfill your crazy 'blood lust!' It doesn't matter who it is! It could be my father, you wouldn't care. Not only that, but you don't just fight them for fun, you _torture _people and make them suffer._

_I only make people suffer who deserve it! _The voice argues back. _Cell most definitely deserved it both times and Piccolo and your father both deserved it for resenting you._

_I don't care if my dad hates me with all of his heart!_ Gohan furiously replies. _He _never _deserves to suffer. I will never let Mr. Piccolo or dad suffer that way again! That's what I'm talking about, you don't care who it is. Well I do!_

Bojack is now standing right in front of Gohan, getting ready to deliver a finishing blow.

_JUST LET ME OUT! _the voice screams desperately. _Bojack is right here to finish you off!_

_NO!_ Gohan profusely refuses.

Bojack winds up a roundhouse kick that he means to use to break Gohan's neck, thus ending his life. Gohan closes his eyes as he realizes that this is the end. The green alien swings his leg as hard as he can and a devastating crack echoes throughout the room. A limp body falls to the ground at Bojack's feet… except it isn't Gohan's.

Bojack smirks proudly as he looks at his handy work. Gohan opens his eyes and what he sees will scar him for the rest of his life.

Right in front of him, at his feet, lies Goku, his father, with his neck at a very unnatural angle. His ki is still present, but it's fading fast. He is dying, and not even a senzu bean would be quick enough to save him. Bojack kicks Goku's body across the arena near those of Piccolo and Trunks, wiping his hands together as if cleaning them off of dust.

"Mission complete," He proudly states, turning back to Gohan with an evil grin on his face.

* * *

Translations:

chibi- cute child, dwarf

ki- energy

sensei- master, teacher


	11. Spiraling Out of Control

**A/N: Hey hey! Sorry I'm a little later with this update, but I just got through taking an exam. I had two this week as well as a difficult lab so it's been pretty stressful. I honestly don't know what to think about my two exams :| but I nailed my lab! :D**

**Anyways enough about my personal life, or lack there of. This chapter is incredibly important later on. A ton of stuff is revealed. It also leaves a lot of questions as well so I hope you enjoy it. I know I've been saying this a lot by reviews are especially important now. I really would like to know if I'm making complete sense. **

**By the way, an update on my writing progress. I know I said that this would be a twelve chapter story (not including the Prologue and Epilogue), but I had to split chapter 12 into not just two, but THREE chapters! it was either that, or have a chapter well over 30,000 words. Now I like reading long chapters, but that is just absolutely INSANE, even for me! Therefore, there will be fourteen chapters plus an Epilogue and Prologue making it to a whopping sixteen chapters total!**

**Sorry about the rant... on with the story!**

"dialogue"

_thoughts_

_"telepathic communication"_

~change in setting~

*action*

**flashback**

* * *

Chapter 10: Spiraling Out of Control

~Battle Dome: Northern Arena, Intergalactic Tournament Grounds, Yahoi Island, Age 768~

Gohan can only stare in horror as he looks over at his father's limp body by Trunks and Piccolo's unconscious ones. His eyes never left him for a moment. Questions keep forming in his mind as tears threaten to spill from his horrified eyes. _Why daddy?_ Is all Gohan could think._ Why did you do it daddy?_

_Isn't it obvious? _The voice in his head responds, annoyance and anger clear in his tone. _He instant transmissioned in front of you to keep you alive. He knew it was the only way to save you because you refused to let me out! _

Gohan instantly feels a pang of regret, which doesn't go unnoticed by the voice, who decides to use this to his advantage.

_Gohan, you failed him again. He trusted you and you failed him by not letting me out. _

Gohan flinches at the voice's words. His mind drifts back to the sight of his father, the sight of his neck after it was broken. Then, for the first time since the event, Gohan turns his attention to Bojack. The smug expression on the bastard's face makes him sick. He's _proud_ of it! The green abomination's actually _proud_ that his role model, his pillar of strength, his father is dead, and _he's_ the one that killed him. Bojack's the one responsible for this mess! Not himself! His mind now only thinks of ways to make the green skinned abomination suffer in the worst way possible, just as much as he has!

_Well I'm letting you out now! _Gohan finally announces to the voice in his head. _I'm going to break out of this bind and check on daddy. Then you make him suffer for all it's worth!_

The voice inwardly grins (if that's possible). _Finally! Took you long enough!_

With that finished, Gohan turns to look at Bojack, meeting his eyes with his own. The hardened expression on Gohan's face makes the monster flinch, but he quickly regains his confident composure.

"Oh, looks like somebody's angry!" Bojack mocks Gohan. "What's the matter? Was it because I killed your precious daddy?" Bojack's tone becomes even more mocking if that's possible.

Gohan merely darkens his expression as a golden aura suddenly explodes around him, much to the shock of both Hera warriors. They both thought that the bind was draining Gohan's power this whole time, but his power was actually increasing with his anger. Gohan begins to scream a non-human like scream of pain and suddenly bolts of electricity start to form in his aura. Gohan's hair starts to flare straight up and lengthen a little. The wind is forcing Bojack to shield his eyes and it makes Bujin fly away and into one of the walls on the far side of the arena, dropping the bind and knocking him out yet again. As the ki draining bind drops, Gohan's ki climbs even faster. At this point he is well above Bojack's ki, yet the ki increase doesn't feel to have any indication of stopping anytime soon. In fact, it starts to increase at a _faster _rate.

Electricity starts enveloping his blinding golden aura at an increased rate at this point. Suddenly a loud boom can be heard from the ceiling of the dome. If one were to look up, they would see a giant crack right over were the demi-saiyan is powering up. Another boom sounds and unexpectedly, a large bolt of lightning explodes through the crack in the dome and strikes the demi-saiyan as if he were a lightning rod. The lightning only seems to increase his ki further as this lightning strike seems to catalyze the transformation. The chibi lets out another roar of pain as he is engulfed completely by his electric aura and another bolt of lightning strikes his form. His ki takes an exponential leap of epic proportions as this occurs, signaling that he has broken the barrier to super saiyan 2.

Now able to see the outside world, if one were to look through the giant hole that was just created, they would see a storm forming around the transformed chibi. Dark clouds seem to be circulating his form as if he were the eye of a hurricane. Rain starts to pour through the hole, as bolts of lightning continue to flash, although they are no longer striking the chibi demi-saiyan.

Speaking of Gohan, he is now a full-fledged super saiyan 2 in its prime. His golden hair is in spikes, shooting straight up, except for one stubborn bang that hangs down over his forehead. He has increased a good two inches in height thanks to the increase in muscle mass. His aura is steady, with full-fledged bolts of lightning almost constantly surrounding him. The demi-saiyan's teal eyes are colder and more ruthless than they've ever been, looking very unfit on an eleven-year-old boy. More importantly though, his ki is higher than it ever has been, including both of his battles against Cell, and is so powerful that the dead fighters and the Kais can feel it all the way from Other World!

Gohan shoots his furious eyes at Bojack, before turning and using his speed from his transformation, appearing beside his father, mentor, and friend from the future. Gohan looks down at his father, his eyes soft for the time being. He can sense that his father's ki is diminishing rapidly, and that he can't save him; however, he prays to Dende that he can hear his words.

"Daddy…" Gohan chokes out before bursting into tears. "I'm sorry I let him do that to you… I'm sorry I was too stubborn… too afraid…" Gohan pauses for a minute to let himself calm down.

Before he has a chance to continue, a gigantic ki blast that has enough power to blow up the planet three times over surges towards Gohan. Bojack is attempting to take out the demi-saiyan while his guard is down. Gohan however, gets up from the kneeling position he was in, and faces the blast before simply deflecting it and sending it through the hole in the ceiling. A few seconds later a gigantic explosion could be seen far off in the sky as Bojack's blast ended up connecting with the planet Jupiter, destroying it on impact.

Gohan glares daggers at Bojack, who is still in awe at how the demi-saiyan was able to deflect his blast like it was nothing. "Don't you _dare_ think I've forgotten about you!" Gohan shouts, his voice laced with disgust and fury directed at the green skinned alien. "I'll deal with you in a minute!"

Bojack can only gape as Gohan turns back to his dying father and kneels in front of him, his eyes once again soft and glistening with tears. "Don't worry daddy, I'll avenge you. I'll make you proud yet! Goodbye daddy… I love you…" Gohan finishes just as the last of Goku's ki signature disappears from this world. Gohan couldn't hold it in anymore and starts freely crying over his father's dead body. "DADDY!" Gohan shouts to the heavens, his aura becoming violent once again as bolts of lightning surround the demi-sayian, making him look like a bolt of lightning himself. Once again his ki skyrockets as he closes the eyes of his father and walks away from his body.

With tears in his eyes, Gohan turns his attention to Bojack. He gets a murderous look in his eyes that would even send Vegeta cowering in fear. The alien takes a few steps back at the sight. Gohan scowls at Bojack with a look that told him that he was going to die a very painful death. Without any warning, Gohan warps in front of Bojack and punches the alien as hard as he can in the abdomen. Gohan's fist tears through the alien's green flesh as if it were tissue paper. Bojack coughs up blood as Gohan removes his fist from his enemy's gut, revealing a giant hole in his stomach. The suffering alien starts falling to the ground when Gohan grips him by the neck and pulls his now limp body closer to him, forcing the alien's face in front of his own.

Gohan looks into the now fearful face of Bojack and smirks a very uncharacteristic smirk at the menace. "I'm _far_ from through with you yet," He says in a calm, but very dark and threatening voice.

* * *

~Battle Dome: Main Arena~

The whole Z-gang is following the fierce battle that is going on in the Northern Arena by ki sensing. When the lightning bolt broke through the dome ceiling during Gohan's super saiyan 2 transformation, the ki barrier that was in place around the whole Battle Dome Complex was destroyed, allowing everyone with the ability of ki sensing to be able to sense what's going on. They sense that two fierce powers are tearing it up on the battlefield, but one of them outclasses the other by hundreds of times!

This extremely powerful ki is stronger than anything ever sensed by the Z-warriors, and it seems to be beating the other strong ki to a pulp. They can tell due to the fact that the smaller ki keeps getting weaker in bunches, as if each hit by the stronger ki was life-threatening.

Now the ki seems to be decreasing steadily, a sign of a mortal wound. As the ki continues to drain, everyone can sense a great amount of pleasure radiating from the gigantic ki signature. This gives everyone the impression that the giant ki is enjoying the suffering that the quickly weakening ki is going through.

After a quick ki scan, they all gasp at once, finally recognizing who that gigantic ki belongs to. To say everyone is shocked is an understatement, but this revelation is incredibly shocking to two particular individuals.

"That's daddy!" Goken shouts. "I can't believe how strong he is! And I thought that he was strong before!"

Pan however is more worried than impressed. "Goken, don't you notice something off about daddy's ki?" she asks her little brother. Her worry increases as she continues to hone in on her father's ki and doesn't feel the overwhelming warmth that usually attacks her senses when she feels him.

Goken stops his train of thought and stares back at his worried sister. The concern in her eyes makes him drop his excited attitude and refocus his senses on his father. "Yeah, you're right…" He finally replies. "It feels colder than normal, and how come whenever I sense it I feel like I'm about to cry?"

"Gohan's in deep emotional pain," Krillin answers for the chibis, who both look towards the bald monk. He looks like he is fighting tears himself, but he's determined to stay strong for the chibis' sake. "If what we felt earlier is correct, then…" Krillin forces back a sob. Dende, why does he have to say this? "then *sniff* your grandfather is…" Krillin finds himself unable to continue and finally the dam breaks. He puts his face in his hands and starts sobbing over the death of his best friend since he was twelve.

Goken looks at Krillin confused. He wasn't paying attention to what happened to his grandfather since his young senses were overwhelmed by the sheer ki output his father was putting out. Pan however gasps as she realizes what Krillin's referring to. She tries extremely hard to hold back tears this time.

Goken looks at his sister, confused. "Pan, what's wrong?"

Yamcha, who looks more composed than Krillin or Pan, decides to fill the confused chibi in. "What Krillin is trying to say is that Goku is… Goku is..."

"Kakarot's dead," Vegeta bluntly finishes, appearing for the first time since his semifinal match with Goku. While his expression remains stoic, one who knows the prince can tell that Goku's death affected him deeply, much more deeply than most realize.

At this declaration, crying starts echoing throughout the room. Baby Goten, who was handed back to his mother earlier by Goken and who had been contently sleeping since, had woken up from Vegeta's declaration. It seems that the chibi somehow understands the weight that came with those words. Chichi tries to comfort the infant she is holding, desperately trying to fight back tears of her own. She had felt great pain in her heart earlier when they rest of the Z-fighters gasped at feeling a ki disappear and had known that something had happened to either her husband or eldest son, but now she knows that her husband is gone, and the dragon balls can't bring him back to life since he already has died before. Still, as much as her heart aches, as much as she hurts for her eldest son who probably is taking this worse than anyone, she stays strong for her infant son and her future grandchildren. She needs to!

Goken's eyes widen and start to water when he finally processes what they were told as Pan finally loses grip on her tears and starts sobbing again. "What?!" He says incredulously "But how?!"

"I have no clue," Vegeta answers irritated, not at the fact that the brat asked but the fact that he doesn't know the answer. "I only could sense what was going on after the brat exploded and by that time Kakarot was already mortally wounded. All I know is that knowing that boy like I do, he probably blames himself for his father's death and is trying to take it out on that dying ki who is probably the one actually responsible."

"But why would daddy blame himself?" Pan inquires no one in particular once she's finally able to stop her tears once again. She's hoping to get an answer from someone who was following the battle for a while now.

Krillin is the one to answer the chibi, having recovered from his grief for the time being. "That's just the way your dad is," he tells the chibi honestly. "He always feels like the weight if the world is on his shoulders. If he's present and someone he loves gets hurt, he always believes that he should have been the one to stop it. He puts too much responsibility on his shoulders… poor kid. I can't imagine what he's going though at this point."

"I'm worried that this will end up changing him," Yamcha adds in his two cents. "He's been through so much already. I haven't felt this much pain and anguish in his ki since the Cell Games. And judging by the pleasure I'm feeling from his ki, he's going through the same thing he did with Cell, making him suffer as much as possible. I really hope he can overcome it again, he's such a good kid… but Goku was the one who helped him last time and he's… gone…"

"Daddy has to!" Goken shouts, desperation in his voice. "He just has to! He's the best!" The poor chibi starts sobbing as the whole weight of the situation finally takes its toll on him. Pan gives him a hug and he clutches onto his sister for dear life as she lets her tears fall as well once again. Neither chibi has ever cried this much before, but their grandfather died again, and their daddy might never be the same daddy they've met and loved more than anyone!

Suddenly a thought occurs to the youngest chibi, and he breaks out of his saddened state and becomes angry. "Why isn't anyone helping him!?" Goken asks indignantly. "If he's done this before and broken out of it with grandpa's help, why hasn't anyone tried to help him?! You're all just sitting here crying like helpless children when you could be helping my daddy!"

Everyone gasps at the sudden outburst by the chibi. "GOKEN!" Pan cries, honestly shocked at Goken's accusation. He has never blamed anyone for not helping before. "How can you say something like that?"

"Neesan, can't you tell how much daddy is suffering?" Goken asks, his voice suddenly small and his eyes with unshed tears once more. He wipes his nose on his orange sleeve and blinks out his tears from his eyes before continuing. "How can anyone let him go through this without trying to help him?"

"Well it's obvious!" Vegeta suddenly declares again, once again gaining everyone's attention. "The brat is completely insane right now, just like he was at the Cell Games!"

"NO! You're wrong!" Goken furiously shouts back at the saiyan prince, causing cette saiyan's eyebrows to twitch in anger that the grandson of a low-class saiyan would dare talk back to the prince of all saiyans. "My daddy's the smartest and nicest person I've ever met!"

"Goken, calm down," Pan says directly to Goken. The last thing she wants is a fight to break out between the two of them.

However, Vegeta has had enough. "How dare you talk back to your prince you low-class brat!" Vegeta furiously shouts back. "Now shut up and listen will you? If anyone goes over there to 'help' then he'll probably kill them! It has happened before at the Cell Games, and the only reason he never attacked us was because of Kakarot! With him out of the picture, there's no one to make the brat com to his senses, and I hate to admit it, but right now he could probably easily dispose of all of us… myself included."

As much as everyone is in shock at Vegeta's very… well… un-Vegeta like declaration that Gohan is actually stronger than him, Goken still is furious that no one would help his daddy. He doesn't care that he might attack them! He knows with all of his heart that his daddy would _never_ hurt him or Pan, or even Goten. In fact, he's never even seen his daddy hurt anyone! Even still, the young saiyan doesn't understand why no one is willing to put their lives at risk to help someone who's put his life at risk for them multiple times already in his short life!

Suddenly the walls of the dome start shaking again, and the ground starts shaking as if an earthquake is happening. More loud bangs can be heard from the north and suddenly, the weaker ki disappears completely; however, the ki that everyone has identified as Gohan continues to rise instead of go down and more booms can be heard from the north. The earth starts shaking more violently now and there is a clear change in the feeling of Gohan's ki. Instead if it being warm like normal, it's cold and filled with so much grief and hate that it's almost too much to bear for those sensing it!

Goken stands up from his seat in the stands, now frustrated and desperate. He's had enough! It's time to take this in his own hands. "Well if no one else is going to help, _I _am!" Goken states in a commanding tone. The chibi then takes a great risk by trying a technique that he's only seen his daddy and grandpa do a few times. _Hopefully I can do this…_ he silently comments. Goken puts two fingers to his forehead. He then starts to concentrate solely on his father's ki.

Pan, upon realizing what Goken is trying to do, panics. She knows her brother is exceptional at learning new techniques incredibly quick without much practice, but this is a dangerous one to try. What if he accidently ends up teleporting to outer space, where there is no air? What if his young body can't handle the stress and it ends up ripping him apart? "Goken no!" she cries. In desperation, Pan throws herself at Goken in hopes to restrain him.

Unfortunately it's too late. As soon as Pan touches the young saiyan, he disappears from sight, finally getting a strong enough lock on his daddy's ki, bringing Pan along for the ride.

* * *

~Battle Dome: Northern Arena~

Gohan throws Bojack's lifeless body to the ground after he finally granted him the mercy of death by the same means the green skinned abomination gave his father death: by breaking his neck. He looks at the body with an expression of disgust. Now that the dirty work's over, he should feel better… right?

_I did it daddy. _Gohan internally sighs. _I've avenged you… but why does it still hurt so much?_

_You fool!_ The voice responds. _The only way you can truly feel better is if you make the one responsible pay: you!_

_NO! _Gohan adamantly responds. _Bojack is the one that killed him, and you made sure that he suffered before he died. That should be enough! I didn't do anything wrong! _

_But you did, _the voice counters. _Sure Bojack did the actual deed, and he paid the way he deserved to, but _you're _the reason he died! You didn't let me out soon enough! Because of your fear, your dad had to sacrifice himself to save you! How can you not understand this?_

_But daddy didn't need to sacrifice himself… _Gohan softly counters, his adamant denial to take blame for the event fading.

_Dende Gohan! _The voice furiously shouts. _Like you would think that he _wouldn't_ sacrifice his life to save yours. He's done it once before already! Besides, that's not even the point. The point is that _you _could have prevented his death by letting me go in the first place!_

…

_You are too weak to protect those you love!_ The voice continues. _Let me take control of this body permanently! Only I have what it takes! _

_No! _Gohan shouts back, still fighting his strong emotions. _If I do that, then everyone will be in danger!_

_Not as much danger as they would be in _your_ care!_ The voice counters. _Look at what happened to your father!_

Gohan now thinks back over everything that happened. How he had to have Piccolo and Trunks save him because he was too scared to let out his saiyan side; how they had to fight Bojack because he passed out since he was afraid; how they both got badly hurt, because he was too weak to help them. He goes over the whole situation that led to his father's death; how weak he was trapped in those ki binds; how he could have released his saiyan side and broken them easily, but refused to because of his fear; how he closed his eyes as he gave up and was going to let Bojack kill him; how he heard a mind numbing crack, but didn't feel anything; how his father's limp body fell to the ground right in front of him as he took the hit that was meant for him because he was too paralyzed by fear. After playing this all over again in his mind, Gohan comes to a sudden, painful realization.

The voice is right.

It's his fault.

It's _all_ his fault.

"NOOOOO" Gohan shouts out loud, his father's death still on his mind.

Heavy rain continues pouring from the heavens through the giant hole in the top of the dome as the storm intensifies due to the sheer energy output from our troubled demi-saiyan. Bolts of lightning continue to crack through the hole and strike the chibi in the glowing golden aura, surrounded by his own lightning as his ki continues to rise and grow more unstable. The screams of agony from the young demi-saiyan don't even sound human as they continue to echo through the booming claps of thunder that accompany each lightning strike. The winds are increasing past the level of a category 5 hurricane as they swirl around him as if he were the eye of the storm, causing the surrounding buildings to collapse and the trees to disintegrate. The Earth is shaking in protest to the continuous efflux of energy being drawn all to one place, creating a gravitational pull towards the source of the energy, making the Earth start to collapse and split; stray pieces of rubble start to orbit the chibi responsible for such a disturbance.

"NOOOOO!" he screams, his voice growing more hoarse with every wail of deep pain.

_It's your fault Gohan! _The voice inside his head continues to say, disgust clear in its voice now. _You should have released me sooner!_

_I know…_ he silently responds, finally giving the voice what it wants to hear. _He's gone… and it's all my fault… I let someone down again!_

The voice chuckles after hearing the confession. _So you finally realize that I deserve to take this body. With me in control, you will no longer be there to let the ones you love down. _

…_y-yes… _Gohan shakily responds. _I concede my consciousness… to y-you…_

At this statement, the voice that has plagued Gohan since his battle with Cell in Other World lets off the most evil cackle the young demi-saiyan has ever heard, but at the moment, he doesn't care. All that's going through his young eleven-year-old mind is how he failed; how his fear had brought about so dire a consequence; how much he hates himself for letting this happen; and so, within the hour, he will be no more, and the voice inside will take his place.

_I don't deserve to live! I will never be good enough to protect everyone… I-I– I failed…_

"_Gohan! Don't you dare give up!"_ a new voice suddenly sounds in the chibi's head, forcing him to look up. The voice is so familiar! It's the voice that used to give him so much comfort, so much confidence, so much hope. Gohan nearly sheds tears again at the sound of it, as if it's too good to be true.

The voice of his father.

"DADDY!?" Gohan cries out loud, looking around frantically for his father.

_Haha stupid boy! _Gohan's inner voice mocks. _Your father's dead! You're the one responsible remember? _

"_Gohan, don't listen to him!" _Goku's voice counters. _"He's right, I am dead, but it's _not _because of you!"_

_Daddy! _Gohan says in his head now. _You can hear him? And how are you talking to me?_

"_King Kai is letting me talk telepathically to you" _Goku responds, his usual cheeriness in his voice. _"And yes I can hear him. But that's not important right now. What's important is that you understand that it's not your fault that I died."_

_Of course it is! _The voice comments back. _You are the one that was too weak and too afraid to let me out._

_Daddy… _Gohan adds weakly. _He's right… I was too afraid… I let you down… again._

"_Gohan, what did I say about taking blame for something you didn't do?" _Goku retorts. _"Bojack's the one that killed me because of a choice _I_ made, not you! And Gohan…"_

_Yes daddy? _The chibi responds.

"_I finally understand why you were so afraid to transform." _Goku answers, regret clear in his voice. _"I completely understand how scared you must have been because when I felt your pain all the way from here, that caused me so much anger at Bojack. I've never felt so mad and all I wanted to do is punish the one who would dare make you hurt so much. That caused me to ascend as well."_

Gohan is dumbfounded at his father's words. He transformed because of him? _Daddy that's great! You did it! I knew you could… _

Goku puts on a soft smile from Other World at his sons genuine excitement at his transformation, but soon puts back on a serious look as he tries to help his son out. _"Yes son I did. More importantly though I felt the incredible fury and intense emotion that comes with the transformation and I must say, it is truly frightening. I never want to be in that much pain ever again."_

_That still doesn't excuse him for not letting me out and saving you! _The voice counters. _I could have given him the power that he needed to break the binds and stop Bojack. _

"_Gohan, you have to fight that voice!" _Goku strongly urges his son. _"I can still sense that he's in control! You have to fight him!"_

_But dad… _Gohan weakly responds_ He's right… I failed everyone again! I-I could have saved you… I was too weak… I_

"_Gohan!" _Goku fiercely cuts off his son. _"Don't blame yourself! I don't care if you could have transformed sooner! I told you I understand why you didn't! I don't know how this voice got here, or who he claims to be, but he's wrong! It's not your fault! You make me proud Gohan. I love you, son!"_

_Yeah right, _the voice counters. _There's no way he could be proud of you for being such a failure! There's no way he can love the person who caused his death! He's lying!_

Gohan almost dismisses his father's words and accepts the voice's claim that his father is lying. How could his father love him when he could have prevented his death? He's about to agree with the voice when a memory comes to him:

"**Daddy…" Gohan chokes out between sobs. "I can't believe I let him… control me… again! Please don't resent me daddy! Please don't hate me!" Gohan continues to ball his eyes out like never before. **

"**Gohan, son…" Goku speaks softly while bringing his sobbing son into a warm embrace, allowing Gohan to cry on his chest. "I don't resent you. I love you. I can't even imagine even thinking about resenting you."**

Gohan remembers how his father spoke those reassuring words to him before. He remembers just tossing those thoughts aside, similar to what he's about to do now, thinking that he's just saying that to stop his crying; then, he then recalls what happened earlier today:

**Goken struggles to get free but Gohan just tightens his grip. Finally realizing he won't be able to escape his father's embrace, Goken stops struggling and starts to sob into Gohan's chest. "Please don't hate me daddy! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Goken desperately cries between sobs.**

**Gohan is struck by his son's desperate pleas. This is the **_**exact**_** same way Gohan reacted when his father confronted him after he gave in to the voice against his father and Piccolo a week ago. Of course Gohan could **_**never**_** hate his son, not even if he wanted to. He immediately comforts the boy. "Goken, you know I could never hate you, even if you killed me. I love you more than anything!"**

"**But daddy…" Goken chokes, still hysterical from what he almost did. "I almost killed her! How could you love me?"**

"**Goken!" Gohan suddenly shouts, causing Goken to momentarily break from his sobbing. "Don't you **_**ever**_** think that I don't love you! Got it?"**

He remembers his son doing the exact same thing! He remembers how Goken was so afraid that he hated him that he ended up breaking down and apologizing to him, just like Gohan had done to his father before. It is then that a light bulb goes off in his head. He had told Goken that he loved him no matter what and he meant it with all his heart; his father did the exact same thing with him; judging by the fact that the situations were almost identical, his earlier realization comes back to the forefront of his mind that his father truly meant those words as well!

Gohan feels as if he was slapped in the face. Suddenly, he regains control of his body and the voice is thrown by the wayside in his mind. _My daddy is telling the truth! I know for a fact he is!_

The voice is dumbfounded. His plan was working perfectly. Gohan was doubting his father's motives once again. What happened? _Gohan, you have to realize he's lying! _The voice desperately tries to say. _He died because you were afraid. _

Gohan however has a strong reply. _That may be true, but he's telling me he doesn't blame me… and I believe him._

"_That's right Gohan," _Goku adds, _"You did nothing wrong. There's nothing wrong with being afraid! I know I would have been too, now knowing what you are going through!"_

_Gohan don't listen to him! _the voice pleads, now incredibly desperate. _Remember last week! He had malice in his eyes as he was attacking you! He's just trying to make sure that you don't have the power! He doesn't trust you with it!_

"_Gohan, don't listen to him!" _Goku says once again. _"He's just trying to gain control again!"_

_Only I have what it takes to protect the ones you love Gohan!_ The voice says, pulling out his trump card. _Remember that even if he doesn't blame you, you still failed to protect him! He may be not blame you for being afraid but I know you blame yourself!_

Gohan's control starts to slip once again as the voice makes his best case. _He's right_. Gohan sadly thinks. _Even though you may not blame me dad, it's still no excuse for me being too afraid to save you. He's right… I don't have what it takes. I'm tired of letting people down._

"_Gohan, that's not true!" _Goku says, astonished that his son could even think that he let him down.

_Gohan, you know that it is true! _The voice counters quickly. He almost has control again.

Just one more push…

Out of nowhere, Goken appears right in front of Gohan, Pan stumbling as she was off balance from the trip. Before they have a chance to get their bearings however, they are pushed away by the enormous winds that Gohan is generating.

"_Gohan!" _Goku screams in his sons head _"Now's your chance! Prove that you can protect your children!" _

_Pan! Goken! _Gohan shoves the voice aside in his head. He is too worried about the well-being of his children to ponder how the heck they got here in the first place._ Don't worry, daddy's coming!_

Gohan immediately goes after his children. The problem is that he doesn't have control of his aura so the winds follow him wherever he goes, only blowing his children farther ahead of him. His saiyan side is still fighting him for control of his body so he still doesn't have complete control over his super saiyan 2 state.

_See? _The voice says. He is cackling at Gohan's futile attempt to catch his children. _I told you that you don't have what it takes! You're making it worse!_

"_Gohan, fight it!" _Goku says to his son. _"Don't let him control you!"_

"DADDY!" Pan and Goken both cry, still getting blown around. They never got a chance to power up in order to withstand the winds. They knew that their daddy's ki was higher than ever, but they didn't expect a whole storm to be caused by it! Now they are getting blown around like pieces of tissue paper because of it. It's fortunate that the winds have already destroyed all of the obstacles that they would otherwise crash into, except the walls. They have no idea though why their daddy doesn't just power down!

_Dammit! _Gohan curses, a first for the demi-saiyan. _I need to save them! Give me control now!_

_No way! _The voice retorts. _If you think I'm giving up that easily you're sadly mistaken. Besides, if I leave, you'll lose all of this awesome power you have! Face it, you need me to save them!_

Gohan stops his futile chase at this point, realizing that he's just making it worse by flying towards them. Gohan notices suddenly that the remnants of the forest he was just in are starting to melt away. This seems familiar to Gohan somehow and at first, he can't place where he has seen this happen before, but then he remembers when he first came the side arena his setting melted away as well. Quickly realizing what– or should he say _who_– is responsible, he looks around for the chibi Hera warrior. Sure enough, he finds Bujin, now conscious and well, in a ki shield protecting him from the storm, standing in the middle of the arena with his hands outstretched and his gold, tooth-like pendant glowing and spinning, smirking as he sees his plan come into place.

This continues for a few moments with the previous setting of the dome melting away downwards as it starts to get replaced by a flat arena, but with sharp spikes all up the walls. For a few moments Gohan becomes confused as to why the little alien had created such an arena. Gohan then notices the trajectory that his kids are on and his confusion quickly comes to comprehension as his eyes widen in pure fear, realizing that the winds are pushing Pan and Goken into the spikes!

_Get out of here NOW! _Gohan commands the voice with more authority than he's ever had. Gohan's willpower at this point is substantial! His need to protect his kids from the future is now flooding his mind stronger than it ever has! Gone are the feelings of self-doubt that the voice has been feeding off of; gone is the guilt over his father's death. The only thing that matters is saving the two most important and precious lives in the universe: his children.

Gohan pushes the voice to the back of his mind and out of his consciousness for the time being and regains control of his mind. Suddenly, the storm that was brewing around the demi-saiyan ceases; the winds die down as the rain stops pouring; the clouds melt into sunlight as it shines through the hole in the ceiling. Gohan's ki becomes much more stable and stops increasing, the lightning bolts gone and his aura faded. Now all that is standing is the demi-saiyan himself, still in his super saiyan 2 state, and very much in control of it.

The momentum that Pan and Goken have built up though is still pushing them towards the spikes. Gohan thinks quickly and uses instant transmission to teleport right in front of them. He pops up right in front of the two saiyan children and he catches them, his super saiyan 2 strength allowing him to slow their momentum at a controlled pace so that they don't hurt themselves by stopping all at once.

An evil cackle echoes through the room as suddenly, Gohan is trapped once again in the ki binds. While normally he would not be affected by them in his super saiyan 2 form, the demi-saiyan was concentrating on stopping his kids' momentum from going into the wall, so he is caught completely off guard by the surprise attack. He drops his kids, who at this point have regained enough of their senses to be able to stop themselves, but Gohan continues to drift, now contained by the ki binds, and before he is able to power up enough to break the binds, he flies right into the wall… and into the spikes…

* * *

Translations:

chibi- cute child, dwarf

ki- energy

neesan- older sister (informal)


	12. Conquering Fears

**A/N: Hey hey! I figured after quite a fun weekend that I'm in such a good mood that I update a tad earlier, and also to make up for the slightly later update last Friday.**

**These next two chapters had me in quite a conundrum. They both take place in the same period of time except in two different places; therefore, they are quite interchangeable as far as order goes. I had a very difficult decision in deciding which one of these two chapters to make chapter 11 and which to make chapter 12, and finally I decided on this. My original plan was the reverse, so if there's anything that I would like feedback about after I post chapter 12 on Friday, it's what order makes more sense to you guys? If I get enough people saying my original plan makes more sense, I will change it back to what I originally planned. It really is no big deal to me.**

**This chapter in particular sets up a ton of things to come, so although it may not be that eventful, the things that come up in this chapter will be incredibly important for the rest of the story. This chapter also serves to explain a few things, one of the reasons I ended up deciding to put it first.**

**Anyways, enjoy!**

"dialogue"

_thoughts_

_"telepathic communication"_

~change in setting~

*action*

**flashback**

* * *

Chapter 11: Conquering Fears

~Other World Check-In Station, Other World, Age 768~

Gohan's confused.

Very confused!

One minute he is crashing into a spiked wall, everything going numb as he had a spike go right through his neck and his spinal cord, leaving him with no motor or sensory functioning below his head. He then remembers passing out from blood loss, but then all of a sudden he wakes up and he's standing in a line full of white, cloud-like fluffy figures in front of what looks like a gigantic white hut with a green roof. Over the entrance to the hut is a plaque that says "Other World Check-In Station."

_I must have died._

Gohan realizes this quickly, and is surprisingly calm and levelheaded. He had heard stories from his father about Other World, and had even been here once before when the Celland Frieza rebelled and escaped Hell. As Gohan looks around and takes in his surroundings, he mentally reprimands himself for not seeing it sooner. The pink skies and golden clouds both in the sky and underneath the white path that he is walking on are dead giveaways to his location in the universe.

He's surprised however at how calm and at peace he is with his death. He thinks it over for a moment, and when he realizes why he died, he sees why he is so at peace with it. He had died protecting his children from crashing into the spikes. Sure, he may have been able to save himself if he was more focused on his surroundings, but that would have meant that his attention wouldn't been on keeping his children safe, and he would have _never_ forgiven himself if they would have gotten hurt because he was more worried about saving himself. Not only would that have been extremely selfish, but in his opinion, the lives of Pan and Goken were much more valuable than his own life. They deserve to live their lives to the fullest extent of happiness.

Gohan looks closer to the building and sees a red, ogre-like creature with a megaphone, yelling at all of the cloud like figures to stay in line. Gohan finds the creature to be really impatient and annoyed, giving him the impression that he does this all the time. Gohan, now figuring that this is the line to check into Other World, just continues following these clouds to the white hut.

When he passes the red ogre, the creature's jaw drops, confusing the demi-saiyan. Hasn't he ever seen a person before? Gohan concludes that there must not be many people in Other World, only these white, cloud-like creatures, and then remembers just how true that is. He remembers his father telling him a story about how when people die, that they turn into spirits and lose their bodies; only powerful heroes with high ki levels and the Kai's themselves have physical bodies in this plane. Gohan chuckles at that since he realizes that he probably scared the poor ogre by having his body.

Gohan patiently waits in the line of souls for around fifteen minutes until his name is finally called. Gohan walks up to a gigantic yellow desk that is as tall as a 50 story building, looks up and can't help up gulp as he looks at another red ogre about 150 stories tall. As intimidating as his size is though, his expression is one of utter surprise. He looks down at Gohan and immediately recognizes him from his resemblance to his father, not to mention the fact that he has a body.

"The son of Goku died today too?" The beast's deep voice booms throughout the hut. He looks genuinely surprised at this new development. "What in the world is going on down on Earth?"

Before Gohan can answer however, Goku suddenly appears right in front of Gohan, grinning widely. "Gohan!" he yells enthusiastically, ignoring the ogre's protests and embracing his son. Gohan returns the embrace almost instantly. He thought he's never get to hug his dad again!

"Goku," the ogre booms, making both saiyans jump from the sudden intrusion. "What is the meaning of this? I was about to judge your son!"

Gohan starts to look nervous while Goku grins and rubs the back of his head sheepishly. "Common King Yemma," Goku answers happily, not intimidated at all by the giant. "You know that he will get into Upper Heaven. Besides, King Kai sent me to pick up Gohan, telling me to get him for some special training."

Both Gohan and King Yemma raise an eyebrow at Goku. "Special training?" The red giant inquires Goku, wondering what the North Kai has up his sleeve now.

"Yep!" Goku answers cheerfully, then looks over to his son, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Common Gohan, this training is important!" He puts two fingers to his forehead and instant transmissions to another part of Other World before King Yemma can question him any further.

* * *

~North End of Snake Way, Upper Heaven, Other World~

Before Gohan could even process what is going on, he suddenly sees the surroundings change, and now finds himself on a long, narrow, winding path that looks like it could go on for miles. The sudden change in setting gives Gohan an unwanted memory of fighting Bujin; he could randomly change the surroundings to whatever he wanted. Remembering this, he suddenly realizes that his kids are there alone now!

"Hello there Gohan–" King Kai starts.

"Pan! Goken!" Gohan suddenly interrupts the ruler of the northern galaxy, panic and fear very clear in his voice. "They're fighting that monster all by themselves!"

King Kai however chuckles at the demi-saiyan's worry. "Relax Gohan, your kids from the future are fine–"

"How do you know that?!" Gohan interrupts again, still overwhelmed with worry for his children.

"Well if you'd let me finish, I will tell you!" King Kai replies annoyed, causing Gohan to stop shouting and slump his head down, now staring at the path that is Snake Way. "Honestly, you need to learn to respect your elders."

"Please," Gohan says, his voice now soft and again filled with desperation and concern for his children. "Just tell me that they're alright…"

Goku places a reassuring hand on his son's shoulder. "Don't worry son," The saiyan tells his son softly. "Pan and Goken can take care of themselves. You've seen them fight before. Besides, they are _your_ children. If anyone can face an enemy at such a young age, it's them."

Gohan looks up at his father and forces a smile. His father is right. They are incredibly strong for their age and their enemy is not nearly the challenge Bojack or Cell were. _Still though, _he silently debates. _That little alien managed to kill me… he may not be that strong physically, but his mental powers are no joke! He may trap them in a ki bind and drain their ki dry… and I'm not there to protect them! I feel so stupid for allowing myself to die! I could ha–_

"Gohan, relax." King Kai soothes the troubled demi-saiyan, half chuckling. "Why don't you see for yourself?"

Gohan gives the deity a puzzled look. "How can I do that?" he asks, curious, hopeful, yet somewhat annoyed. "If this is one of your jokes that dad told me about then–"

"Woah, easy there!" King Kai responds quickly, holding his hands up in front of him defensively. "While I'm flattered that my jokes are so famous that your father tells you stories about them, I would never be that cruel to someone. I know how desperately you want to see how your kids are doing so I thought that you would like to be able to see them and talk to them."

Gohan looks at King Kai critically, trying to find any trace of falsity in his expression. To say that Gohan has been worried sick about his children would be an understatement. Ever since he realized that they were still fighting that blue alien on their own without him there to protect them, he has been distraught and filled with anxiety. The mere thought of his children even getting hurt, let alone dying, tears the young demi-saiyan apart.

He can't help but wonder if this is the way his father felt when he had died to save him. For a moment, the voice starts to creep into his mind to tell him that his father doesn't care, but Gohan forcefully shoves that thought away as he remembers his father mentioning that the pain that Gohan was in drove his father to the next level. If anyone knows what kind of pure agony and pain it takes to make it to that level, it's him. This gives the anxious demi-saiyan the answer he's been looking for, reassuring him that his father does indeed feel the same way about him that he does Pan and Goken.

Gohan continues to study the short, blue Kai. Unlike his, the kis of his children aren't strong enough to feel all the way from Other World, leaving the father of the two in the dark on what's going on on Earth. Being able to actually see and talk to his children would really calm his heart. When he couldn't find any falsity in the blue man's expression, he grins at the deity. "I would love to be able to see them and talk to them!" The deceased demi-saiyan cries, excitement clear in his voice. "How do I do that King Kai!?"

The blue god merely smiles at the demi-saiyan. "All you have to do is put your hand on my back and I can give you a telepathic picture of anywhere in the Northern Galaxy!" he says happily. "This is the same thing I did for your father when you were struggling with your saiyan side."

For a moment, Gohan feels stupid for forgetting that fact. _That's right! Dad did talk to me from here! Now it makes sense how. _He then dismisses these thoughts as his children take a higher priority. "Alright," Gohan excitedly says, walking towards King Kai, "Let's do this!"

The ruler of the north nods and turns in the direction that Gohan could only guess is the direction that Earth is in. Once he's facing the right way, the antennae on the top of King Kai's head start to twitch, as if searching for a signal of some sort. Finally, the antennae straighten out in a sign that they picked up something. Gohan becomes a little nervous when he sees the Kai suddenly gasp and mutter something inaudible to himself. The Kai shakes his head and speaks to the demi-saiyan.

"Okay Gohan," King Kai finally announces. "I've found them so whenever you're ready place your hand on my back. However," the god says, causing Gohan to stop suddenly, as he was about to place his hand on the deity's back, "I must warn you Gohan, you will be able to feel their ki as if you were present there at the moment, and thus, you'll be able to feel their pain and anger. I need you to promise me that you will not react like your father did when I did this for him."

Since he couldn't turn his head from the direction of Earth, King Kai couldn't see the look of shock and horror on Gohan's face after hearing that his children are in immense pain. The Kai didn't need to explain what he means by reacting the same way as Goku, as he knows that Gohan knows what he's talking about. Still, this causes the demi-saiyan to pause and carefully think over the situation.

King Kai is worried that he will become so angry that he would be able to make the jump to the second level of super saiyan. This makes the eleven-year-old wonder; will he be able to control himself? What kind of scene is awaiting him on Earth? It must be horrible if it worries even the Kai if the North. Does he even _want_ to see this if it's so horrible? What if he _can't_ control himself? There are so many questions that he doesn't even know if he wants the answers to. The whole situation is starting to scare him. What he considered so exciting before is starting to form fear in his heart.

_I knew you didn't have what it takes to look after the ones you love._ The voice makes a reappearance in the demi-saiyan's mind, and appears to be as mocking as ever. Gohan immediately makes a move to shove the voice away, but it continues anyway. _First you make your father die for you, and now you abandon your children because of your fear! It's pathetic really!_ _You should just let me take over to protect your loved ones from yourself! Obviously you don't have what it takes._

Gohan once again tries to fight the voice inside of his head. It is at that moment where he admits that some of what the voice is saying is true. Sure his dad didn't die just because of his fear, but it _is_ true that he is abandoning his children because of it. Even though he's dead, he's been offered a chance to see his children again by King Kai, and he's become too afraid of what he might see to take it. He's now determined to prove the voice wrong once again.

"I'm ready King Kai!" Gohan states, determination in his voice. He doesn't care what the situation is. He will _not_ abandon his children. Besides, if they are in as much pain as King Kai says they are, then they need him now more than ever. This action causes the voice to chuckle while saying, _We'll see about that, _before taking a back seat for now.

King Kai nods before instructing the demi-saiyan to put his hand on his back. Gohan is hesitant at first, but eventually makes contact with the deity's back.

* * *

~Battle Dome: Northern Arena, Intergalactic Tournament Grounds, Yahoi Island, Planet Earth~

Immediately, the demi-saiyan is taken away from the scene of Other World and is now suddenly right behind his children. The first thing that Gohan notices is the immense ki coming off of both of his children. They have their hands outstretched over their heads in the classic form of the masenko blast. Gohan is stunned by the sheer power radiating off of his children. Since when did they become this strong? He briefly wonders how in the world he couldn't feel them from Other World as their power is currently rivaling his own at the first level of super saiyan.

It is then that he is taken over by the emotional stress that the two living chibis are under. They feel so broken, so hurt, so… angry. Gohan immediately feels a rush of anger flow through him, but remembering his promise to King Kai, makes an effort to control it. Surprisingly he finds this a lot easier than he thought. The demi-saiyan attributes this to the fact that he has basically been practicing this whenever he goes to the next level. Still though, the pain and anger that he feels from his daughter and son really disturbs him. He wants to make the source of that anger and pain pay!

For some reason, that last thought causes the voice in his head to burst out laughing. This causes the demi-saiyan to growl in frustration. _What is it now?_

The voice continues to cackle madly. It does however manage an explanation. _There's so much wrong with that statement! One, you are dead so you couldn't even make it pay anyways! Two, _you're _the source of their pain! Their angry because you died and left them! So in order to make the source of their pain pay, you'd have to make yourself pay!_

Gohan is suddenly taken aback by this. _He's_ the reason they're so angry? _He's_ the one that caused their pain? Somehow, he finds it hard to think otherwise as it seems to make sense to him. They're angry because he left them, angry because he abandoned them when they were still in danger. The seed of self-loathing he thought wilted suddenly grows back to life again.

Guilt starts to fill the demi-saiyan's heart as he continues to look at his children and feel their anger and pain. Sure, they are directing it at the blue alien, who he now finds trembling before the two chibis with their hands starting to glow, but that just because the alien's evil and they need to get rid of him. He can't help but feel proud of them for a brief moment. They're doing what he failed to do, not that he couldn't have if he wanted to, but because he wasn't able to when he had the chance.

This feeling soon turns to guilt as he realizes that they're cleaning up his mess that he left them. _He_ should have killed him when he had the chance. If he would have, then he would still be there for his children.

The voice feels the sudden rise in power that he has and takes it in full stride. _And three, because you're already dead, you have to make yourself pay by something other than death, and I know exactly how._

Gohan, now feeling like he needs to be punished once again, is in agreement with the voice for once. He has a feeling what the voice has in mind, but asks anyways. _How is it that?_

_You need to hand your body to me! _The voice says triumphantly. _If you give me your body, you will allow me to look after the ones you love while still paying for the mistakes you made with them._

"Masenko HA!"

Gohan was about to agree with the voice when his thoughts are interrupted by the shouts of his children. He watches in awe as the two masenko blasts combine into one and absolutely obliterate Bujin, leaving no trace that the alien even existed!

_They did it!_ The demi-saiyan silently praises. He can't help but feel proud of the two. Not only did they kill him, but they did it as quick and mercifully as possible, quite a feat for being in such an angered and distressed state.

He then watches as both of his children fall as if in slow motion, into unconsciousness. He becomes worried about them. He knows that they are probably just exhausted and that they are probably perfectly fine, but he can't help it. They're his children! Since he doesn't have a physical presence there, Gohan makes it so the picture move over to them. He looks at their faces and can tell that they are in distress, despite being unconscious. They have expressions on their faces as if they are each in a nightmare.

Gohan is overwhelmed with the feeling of wanting to help them. He thinks through ways of how to help them when an idea pops into his head. His father was able to enter his mind with King Kai's help. But he was conscious when that happened. Perhaps not in the best state of mind, but conscious nonetheless. He has no clue if he would be able to do the same with his children when they are unconscious.

Finally, his need to help thwarts any uncertainties about the situation. Gohan directs the mental picture to dive into the mind of Goken, as he is the one who is closer at the moment, and preys to Dende that this will work.

* * *

_~Inside Goken's Mind~_

_Gohan suddenly feels a pull as he gets closer to Goken, as if he's getting sucked in. The demi-saiyan then finds himself in an area surrounded by just white. He then hears faint sound in the distance and he directs the picture to go towards the sound. As he continues to move in the direction of the sound, it continues to grow louder and louder until he is actually able to make out a figure in the distance._

_By now, Gohan is able to distinguish the sound as quiet crying. This puzzles the demi-saiyan as he remembers that his son was extremely angry before he fell unconscious. As he moves closer to the figure, he is able to finally see that it is none other than his son, who is curled up in a ball, softly crying his eyes out. Now that he's closer, Gohan can also make out faint whimpers of "daddy" and "why" coming from his distraught son. The sight breaks the demi-saiyan apart and he immediately, without a second thought, goes to comfort the boy._

_The voice inside of Gohan growls in disgust. He was so close! Again! He could tell that Gohan was about to give in, but those two damn children got in the way once again!_

_Gohan wishes that he could give his son a reassuring hug, but he doesn't have a physical presence there. Instead he has to settle for verbal reassurance. "Goken, can you hear me?" Gohan calls to the figure that is his son's mental presence, hoping with all of his heart that he can hear him._

_Goken immediately snaps his head up at the sudden call of his name. That voice sounds so familiar… could it be? "Daddy?"_

"_Goken," Gohan quickly says, making sure to reassure his son that he's present and that he's not hearing things. The demi-saiyan grins at the fact that his son can indeed hear him, but it soon turns into a frown as he gets a better look at his boy. "Son, what's wrong? Why are you crying?"_

_Goken has a look of utter shock on his face, which quickly turns into one of confusion. "Daddy! Where are you? I can hear you but I can't see you!"_

"_I'm in Other World son," Gohan sadly explains, and Goken's expression drops as he realizes what that means. His daddy is still dead, and he didn't just dream that he died. "I'm talking to you telepathically through King Kai though." Gohan continues. "Goken, please tell me what's wrong."_

"_Daddy, isn't it obvious?" Goken softly replies, choking back a new set of tears. "You're gone daddy… and I'll never be able to see you again!" Goken can't contain the tears any longer and he breaks down again._

_Gohan becomes confused. Weren't his kids mad at him? Weren't they angry that he left? Yet if Goken's reaction is one to go by, he's not angry at all, but only sad that he's gone. His heart races at this discovery as if it is the biggest news he's ever found out, and quickly tries to confirm it. "Goken, you mean you're not mad at me? I thought you and Pan were angry at me for dying and leaving you two alone…"_

_Goken halts his tears as he hears his father speak again. He becomes surprised by what his daddy said. His daddy thought they were mad at him? "Why did you think that we were mad at you daddy? We were sad that you had to die, but you saved us! I love you daddy, and I know that Pan does too!"_

_Gohan is so relieved that he almost starts crying himself! His children aren't mad at him! "Goken, I love you too, don't ever forget that! Thank you son for everything. I can't tell you how relived it makes me to hear that you two aren't angry at me."_

"_Daddy…" Goken suddenly says so soft that it's almost like a whisper. "Are you mad at me? I'm sorry you got killed because of us! I'm sorry you died because we were there!"_

_This new development throws Gohan off guard. What is his son talking about? He's not mad at him!_

"_Daddy I'm sorry!" Goken continues. "I was the one who used your technique to get into the arena in the first place! I know tha–"_

"_Hold on there son," Gohan cuts off his son. Did he hear what he thought he heard? Goken actually preformed the instant transmission? Not only that, but he did it within a week of being exposed to it! "Goken, that's amazing! You are truly incredible you know that?!"_

"…_What are you talking about daddy?" The younger chibi thought that his father was mad at him and now he's praising him?_

"_I'm talking about you being able to do instant transmission successfully with only less than a week of exposure to the technique! I know from experience that that is absolutely unbelievable son!"_

_Goken can't help but smile at his father's praise. "Thanks daddy, I'm glad you think so…" His expression drops as he continues. "But daddy… that doesn't change the fact that I was the reason we were there, and because we were there… you- you…"_

"_Goken stop right there!" Gohan suddenly interrupts, his voice holding a sense of authority in it. He knows exactly where this is going, and it's an all too familiar place for him. "I know you feel guilty about my death, but you shouldn't because if you guys wouldn't have shown up, I may not be dead, but I know that I would not have been alive either."_

_Gohan reminisces about the state that he was in at the time. He had given up hope. Even with his father encouraging him, he still was about to give into the voice, but then Goken and Pan appeared out of nowhere, giving him a new purpose to fight for. "You guys don't realize it, but your mere presence helped me come back to my senses." The chibi father continues. "I cannot thank you two enough for what you did for me, so I want you to know that I don't blame you at all, for you guys saved me from a fate worse than death by being there… just think of me saving your lives as a bit of repayment for everything you did for me, although I would have done it for you anyways even if you hated me with all of your guts. Just remember that I did it because I love you guys more than anything in the universe."_

"_Wow…" Goken is in awe. Normally, his skeptical ways would lead him to question his father's statement, but this is his daddy talking! The young saiyan made a vow to himself that he would never doubt his daddy ever again and trust him wholeheartedly. "Thank you daddy!" Goken happily cries. He really has the best daddy ever! Only he would find a way to talk to him all the way from Other World to cheer him up and relieve his guilt. This thought makes Goken sad once again though because he realizes that he'll never see him ever again and he starts to tear up once more._

_Gohan notices the mood change in his son and once again becomes concerned. "Son…" Gohan starts. "What's wrong?" Gohan gently beckons the chibi. He really wishes that he could transcend the barrier of the living and dead to give his son a hug at the moment, but knows it's not possible._

"_I'm just sad that I won't get to see you ever again!" Goken chokes, now with tears running down his small face. "I miss you daddy…"_

"_Goken," Gohan says, once again making sure to be gentle with his son. "I know you miss me. I miss you too, but don't be sad son. I'm having a great time in Other World!"_

_Goken's tears slow down as he starts to listen to his daddy. "Y-you are?"_

"_Sure I am son!" Gohan quickly reassures his son. "Since I died for such a noble cause as saving you two, I get to keep my body here! Normally people just turn into spirits, but heroes get to keep their physical body as well!"_

"_Wow daddy, that's so cool!" Goken excitedly chirps, now a smile on his face. It's so cool that his daddy is recognized as a hero!_

_Gohan is glad to see his son is happy again. "Yeah, I thought so too he he. But anyways, because I still have my body, I basically get free roam of Upper Heaven. I've already met King Kai and I've found out just how awesome the guy is! You remember who he is right?"_

"_Yeah, he's the one that trained grandpa before Uncle Vegeta came to Earth!" Goken answers, recalling his daddy's story about how Uncle Vegeta came to Earth and battled to take it over, only to lose to grandpa. He then remembers another aspect of that story and suddenly gets really excited. "Daddy! I also remember that grandpa was dead before, but he was revived! Are you gonna get revived too?"_

_Gohan grins from ear to ear after seeing his child put the pieces together. He was going to mention it later anyways, but he's happy that his son figured it out first. He really is a smart kid. "That's right Goken! You ruined the surprise I had for you later…" Gohan pouts in mock disappointment, but the realizes that his son can't see him, so it really is for no good reason. "but yes Goken. I will be coming back to life soon, just like your grandpa did."_

_Goken is so happy he's speechless. His daddy is coming back! He's really coming back! He just wishes he could see him so he could give him a big hug, but unfortunately, that's impossible. Still, he's super excited to have his daddy come home._

"_Speaking of your grandpa, he's here with me," Gohan continues, now half chuckling at his son's reaction to his news. "And that's another reason I'm having a great time here! I get to spend quality time with him. He was sad at first when he had heard that I died, but then he was happy because he got to see me again. And there's something else Goken."_

_Goken finally gets his voice back and is able to inquire his father. "What is it daddy?"_

"_I get special training up here!" Gohan continues, "And it's even better than the training that grandpa got when he was here the first time!"_

"_Are you serious daddy?" Goken is now bouncing up and down in excitement. "Daddy, you're so cool! I wish I was so cool!"_

_Gohan can't help but chuckle at his son's statement. Leave it to his sweet little Goken to say something like that. "I'm glad you think so son," He finally manages to say after a few chuckles. "And as soon as I'm done with this training, I will be coming home. Both grandpa and I! I promise, but now I have to go son. I need to talk to your sister now and the sooner I get done with this training, the sooner I can come back, but promise me one thing son."_

"_Yes daddy?" Goken asks, curious of what his daddy wants him to do. Whatever it is, he will do it!_

"_You have to promise me that you won't be sad over my death, and promise me that you won't be sad over grandpa either. We're both having a good time here and we'll see you guys soon, so there's no reason to be sad over us. Can you do that Goken?"_

"_You bet daddy!" is the chibi's enthusiastic reply. "I can't wait to see you again!"_

"_Back at you little man!"Gohan responds to his son. "Now I have to go. I love you son."_

"_Love you too daddy! Bye!" The chibi even waves, even though he can't see his daddy, but he has a feeling that daddy can see him. Gohan smiles at the gesture. Boy that kid is sharp!_

* * *

~Inside Pan's Mind~

Gohan reluctantly retreats out of his son's mind and makes it back to the spiked walled arena. He really does miss his son, but he needs to reassure his daughter now. As soon at he's out of Goken's mind, Gohan enters Pan's mind.

Gohan proceeds to cheer up his daughter and tell her the same things he told his son; that he misses her, but he's coming home soon. He also tells her that he's getting special training in Other world from King Kai with his father, and that she shouldn't be sad over his and Goku's deaths because they're having a good time and will see her soon.

Gohan found it a little tougher to cheer up the girl. For one, she's a little older and thus, although she still is a kid, she more of a rational thinking kid and doesn't get as easily excited as her little brother. Secondly, it was a little harder for Gohan to relieve Pan's guilt from the situation. Even though she wasn't responsible for actually getting into the dome, she felt as though she should have been more responsible because she's the older sister and she believes she could have done more to stop Goken from trying the technique. She also felt that she could have done more before he smashed into the wall from the ki binds.

Eventually, though, Gohan is able to talk her through the situation and alleviate the guilt that she had for the cause of his death. He goes into more details with her about how she and Goken actually saved him than he did with Goken, even going as far as actually telling her about his inner struggle with his saiyan side. She's completely shocked upon hearing about the struggle, but begins to understand how he believes that they saved him. Gohan also explains to his daughter that this is what the training will most likely address, making her understand completely how serious the training actually is.

After that, Pan becomes her old happy self, and even though she says that she's disappointed that she has to wait until after his training to see him again, she understands that it's incredibly important training, and that he'll tell her all about it when he gets back. After seeing that his daughter is alright, Gohan, once again reluctantly, says goodbye to his daughter and exits her mind.

* * *

~North Snake Way, Upper Heaven, Other World~

As soon as Gohan leaves Pan's mind, he takes his hand off of King Kai's back, transporting his mental presence back to his physical body. The preteen demi-saiyan takes a moment to get his bearings back before telling his father how it went. He is still a little disoriented from having his mind suddenly come back to the realm of the dead once more.

"So son," Goku eagerly says, noticing that his son removed his hand from King Kai's back, signaling the return of his mental presence to this plane. "How did it go? What happened? You looked a little upset for a while, but now you look fine."

Finally, Gohan is ready to disclose to his father what he witnessed. He knows that King Kai already knows since he could feel that he was present with him the entire time (he was the one who was doing all of the telepathy work after all). "Well dad…" the young demi-saiyan starts. He intentionally pauses in order to add suspense, but finally breaks out into a grin. "They destroyed that small blue alien with two masenkos that combined into one! It was insanely powerful too!"

Goku is now grinning himself. "So _that's_ what I felt from all the way from Earth!" Goku comments, surprising Gohan a little. Despite the fact that demi-saiyan said that the blast was insanely powerful, he is still surprised that his father could feel it all the way from Other World.

"Wow, you mean you felt it?" Gohan asks, wanting confirmation. If this is true, Gohan may not have been able to stop that blast himself, even as a super saiyan 2, although the blast wouldn't be able to kill him. This would give him just one more reason to be proud of his kids.

"Yeah!" Goku enthusiastically replies, reminding Gohan of his eight-year-old son. He inwardly chuckles at the comparison since both people look pretty much identical. "At first I was worried that it might have been the other guy," Goku continues, completely oblivious to the fact that his son is deriving amusement from him, "but when I didn't see you become angry or sad, but happy, I knew that it must have been good. I just didn't know it was Pan and Goken! Geez did those two get strong or what!"

Gohan smiles at his father's comment, agreeing wholeheartedly. He too was genuinely surprised at just how strong his kids have become. As he recalls, his two children weren't even half as strong as they are now when they first arrived in this timeline. He recalls their power before they passed out; Goken's ki was far stronger than his was at the Cell Games, and Pan's ki was almost on par with his own in the first super saiyan state currently!

The demi-saiyan has no concrete explanation on how they were able to grow so strong, so quickly, but he has a theory. All of his life, Gohan has heard the Z-fighters go on and on about his potential, about how he has so much untapped power. He now has a pretty good grip on what they were all talking about as he figured out that his emotions play a key part in unleashing it, hence how he was able to ascend to the next level so easily, despite the fact that he wasn't nearly strong enough to generate enough activation ki on his own back at the Cell Games. His emotions were running high as he watched all of his friends and his father getting beat up and thrown around like rag dolls by the Cell Jr.'s. Then when Android Sixteen's head got crushed by Cell, his emotional pain that was already on the breaking point, finally snapped, and that emotion tapped into his hidden power. That power gave him so much extra ki that he was able to ascend _beyond_ his normal limits.

Gohan figures that his children have inherited this trait. It seems that they both, Goken especially, have this untapped power as well. Although not as overwhelming as his, this theory would explain their sudden, spontaneous leaps in power over the past week.

During their training sessions, he and his father would push the chibis from the future to their limits. He could tell right from the start that they had tons of potential from how much they grew from these sessions alone, as they would grow a lot from just a few hours a day.

Then at the tournament, they grew exponentially. Pan was provoked during her semi-finals match against him when he didn't transform right away. He knows that she was mad at him for not taking her seriously from the start, as this is a feeling that Gohan has experienced all too often when he was younger. The determination to prove him wrong tapped into her hidden power and she suddenly became much stronger than she was before without even realizing it.

Then there's Goken. He was driven to transform into a super saiyan for only a second time at the tournament when he fought Android Eighteen in the prelims. That in itself was enough to increase his strength dramatically, but the emotional stress that he was under was what allowed him to beat her so easily, as Gohan felt an increase in his son's ki, even after he transformed. He realizes that he must have also tapped into that untamed power buried inside of him. This also translated into him being able to give Piccolo a run for his money when normally Piccolo would't have that difficult of a time with a ki level that was Goken's base power at the time.

Finally, what had just taken place on Earth. Gohan was not clueless to the amount of pain that they were in when fighting Bujin. He figures that this emotional pain tapped into_their_ hidden potential in a similar fashion as it did his at the Cell games, which is what allowed them their biggest increase in ki by far.

The thing is though, with Gohan, the vast majority of the untapped ki he obtains is only temporary, and as soon as he returns to a normal emotional state, it returns to its untapped state. He only retains about 5% of this ki at most, hence why it takes a lot of training to control a new state such as his super saiyan 2 state. With Pan and Goken however, they seem to retain more of this ki. Gohan can't be certain since despite how it feels like he's known them forever, he really has only seen his kids for a week, but from what he's witnessed, he can conclude that they maintain at least 8-10% of their 'hidden power' every time they tap into it. While this may not seem like much, with the amount of sheer power that they are starting to unleash, especially after that battle with Bujin, that extra 3-5% that they retain turns out to be a great amount of ki, giving them a substantial power boost. This is his reasoning behind how his children have had an easier time mastering their super saiyan transformations as well.

Gohan shakes off his thoughts as he realizes that he has left his father waiting for a while now. Grinning sheepishly while rubbing the back of his head in classic Son fashion, Gohan addresses his father. "He he, sorry about that dad, I didn't mean to leave ya hanging for so long," Gohan apologizes. "I was just thinking about just how much Pan and Goken have improved in one week."

"It is quite impressive," King Kai suddenly comments out of nowhere, surprising the father and son duo. In all honesty, they forgot that the blue deity was even there! "It reminds me of you Gohan. I have been watching you ever since you showed your potential on Planet Namek and I must say that your children from the future show the very same potential that you do."

Gohan is surprised that King Kai has actually been following him for the better part of five years now. The ruler of the North probably has a better idea of his power than he does himself since the deity is much more knowledgeable in the concept of ki. Heck! He wouldn't be surprised if King Kai had predicted what happened with him at the Cell Games! If he thinks they have the same potential, then to the demi-saiyan, that's as concrete as evidence gets.

"Wow, you really think so King Kai?" Gohan inquires the deity, wanting to confirm his theory with one of the best in the area of ki.

"From what I've seen, I'd say so." He responds. "To be quite honest, even I didn't expect such an improvement in such a short amount of time. They truly are remarkable. You should be proud Gohan."

Gohan grins at that statement. "You bet I'm proud!" If only the blue deity knew how proud he actually is. But perhaps he does. Either way, Gohan continues to grin as he continues his recollection to his father. "Anyways dad, where was I? Oh yeah! Pan and Goken completely obliterated the alien, but became so exhausted that they fainted. As I went to make sure that they were alright, I saw that they were both having a nightmare of some sort, so I tried diving into their thoughts like you dove into mine."

"Did that work?" The full-blooded saiyan asks his son. He has the same question as his son originally did. He doesn't know if you can enter an unconscious mind or not.

"Yes it did!" Gohan enthusiastically says. He then proceeds to tell his father about how he found Goken crying when he saw him at first, and he admits that he thought that both of his children were mad at him for leaving them behind. Goku is stricken by this since this sounds like something that the voice would say in order for him to cave, but his fears are quelled as his son continues by telling him that Goken was just sad because he felt guilty for Gohan dying. This brings another concern to the forefront of the saiyan's mind, but once again, it is crushed and replaced with a sense of pride as his son tell him that he relieved Goken's guilt by telling him that he died because he loves them. He also feels proud as his son tells him that he relieved his sadness by telling them that they're happy in Other World.

Goku slightly flinches when Gohan tells him about how he told Goken that they both will be revived. Thankfully his son doesn't notice. He doesn't want Gohan to know that he's actually been debating whether or not to actually be brought back with the dragonballs. He knows that he has already died once before, but he also knows that the Namekians would gladly wish him back if he desired.

Goku has been playing with the idea ever since before the Cell Games. He has had a gut feeling ever since that fateful tournament that his death was coming up; he had a feeling he would die sometime soon. When it didn't happen at the Cell Games, he merely thought that his gut feeling was wrong and thought nothing more of it.

However, five months ago, when he felt Bojack's ki from Other World for the first time, this feeling resurfaced. He couldn't ignore it this time as it happened too close to the incident with Cell. This got Goku thinking. Are they going to keep on coming until I die? He couldn't help but think that that gut feeling he had about his imminent death was not just a gut feeling anymore. He then told himself if that ki were to make it to Earth and come after him, that he indeed was destined to die at some point in the near future.

And then it happened: Bojack and his henchmen came to Earth; he was the original target. Goku figured that enemies would keep coming to Earth as long as he was alive. It was after he saw the blue alien come out in his arena instead of the Intergalactic Fighter that he was supposed to fight that he knew he was going to die today. And sure enough, it happened, sacrificing himself for his son.

Now that he is dead, Goku has been going through what he has thought about for the past ten months. He figures as if he is a danger to Earth if he's alive, and he has solid proof (in his mind) that that is the case. His brother came there get him to join them; Nappa and Vegeta came for the dragonballs because he had helped kill Radiz; Frieza and his father came after him for revenge for defeating the tyrant on Namek; The androids and Cell were created for the sole purpose of destroying him; and now most recently Bojack has come to Earth in order to take him out as well. The full-blooded saiyan figures that if he were to stay in Other World, that the threats would stop coming since the person that everyone is looking to defeat is already dead.

However, that all changed when he found out about Goten, his second son. He knows that if he were to refuse to come back to life that the boy would grow up without his father. He knows that Gohan and Chichi would be devastated, but that they would eventually get over it since Chichi's a strong woman and Gohan is mature beyond his years, not to mention that they would have loads of support from the whole Z-gang; however, Goten would suffer greatly form not having a father around. His decision then was to come back to raise his son and care for him as a good father should. Sure, the Earth would be at risk, but he believed that raising Goten with a father there for him was definitely worth the risk.

As the months went on however, Goku started to notice how mature his son was getting, and how prepared he was to become a big brother. His commitment to his baby brother was incredible, even though he wasn't even born yet. Then a week ago, when the little guy was born and he saw how he reacted to Gohan, he knew that what they had was special. It really got him rethinking his decision: would it be worth the risk now since Goten would have Gohan to be a father to him? Originally, he thought that despite the closeness, that Gohan was still far too young to take on the responsibility of a parent, but that all changed with the arrival of Pan and Goken…

Goku noticed how Gohan handled the situation and couldn't have been more astonished. His son looked to him like he has raised a kid before! The way he was treating Pan and Goken the first day was incredible! It was then that he made a decision to talk to Trunks about staying longer. He disguised it behind the cover of allowing Gohan to get over his self-loathing, and while he truly wanted that to happen, he had no doubt in his mind at the time that Gohan could get over that without the extra help of the future chibis. His real motivation was to observe just how good of a father Gohan actually was so he could feel at peace if he decided to not come back to Earth when he died. Of course he couldn't tell Trunks this.

Then, to confirm his son's maturity level, he confronted Gohan on his childhood. His reaction to this conversation would greatly influence his decision to come back or not. As soon as Gohan told him that he doesn't regret never having a normal childhood, but feels amazing as a parent, Goku made the decision that if Gohan proved to be an excellent father over the next week that he would stay in Other World for good, knowing that Goten would have a capable father in Gohan.

And over the week, Gohan proved just that. He treated Pan and Goken with so much love and gentleness, yet was stern when it was needed. He took responsibility for them head on and proved to be as good of a father as anyone. Goku could tell that he deeply loves his children from the future and he knows that he deeply loves Goten. It's completely obvious every time that he sees them and how they react every time they see him.

Goku is not ready to tell his son of his decision however. At this point, while Gohan has come a long way with the help of Pan and Goken, he is still in an unstable state mentally. Apparently, the voice resurfaced when Gohan saw his kids in pain and anger, blaming himself for 'abandoning' them. While Gohan eventually fought it off again, he knows that Gohan still feels guilty about the situation on Earth. If he told Gohan that he would be staying dead because he believes he would be a good father to Goten in his place, knowing Gohan, he (or rather his saiyan voice) would blame himself for Goku staying dead. This could very well be the tipping point in the war between his two sides.

That is why he wants his son to undergo this training before he tells him. He was discussing this with King Kai as Gohan was relentlessly beating Bojack to a pulp. King Kai is going to have Gohan go into his mind through meditation and confront the saiyan side in a physical confrontation. He explained that this is what the son of Katas did to expel his evil side and become Piccolo and Kami many years ago. With Gohan however, instead of expelling his saiyan side, which would greatly diminish his power and set loose a powerful enemy on the world, he's going to _merge_ the two sides. According to King Kai, not only would this get rid of the voice, but this would give him much more balance, mentally and spiritually.

King Kai predicts that if the two sides were to merge, then instead of fighting each other, they would work together. His human mind would dominate in normal everyday situations while his saiyan mind would kick in during battle; however, since both sides are now one in the same, Gohan would never lose sense of who he is when the saiyan side takes over, preventing him from being a merciless, blood thirsty killer that he currently is under the influence of the saiyan side. At the same time however, he would have all of the saiyan instincts and abilities that he wouldn't have otherwise. He just would have full control over them.

It would also help his ki if he merged the two sides. King Kai predicts that when the two sides merge, that balance will be brought to the ki of his son. After the merger, Gohan will have complete control of his saiyan powers, unlike now when he ascends. He also predicts that Gohan will get a substantial ki boost as well from this merger as the ki is much more stable and in control.

"Dad!" Gohan shouts, now slightly irritated. "Are you even listening!?"

Goku is brought out of his musings by the subject of his thoughts. He chuckles and rubs the back of his head. "He he sorry son, I kinda zoned out there. What were you saying?"

"I was telling you how I told Pan about my struggle with my saiyan side," Gohan replies, now shaking his head. "You obviously weren't paying attention. So what's on your mind that caused you to completely zone out from what I was talking about?"

"Oh…" Goku starts. He's hesitant on what he's going to say. Obviously his son won't buy it if he says nothing, but he doesn't want to tell him that he was actually thinking about his decision to stay dead either. "I was… just thinking about your upcoming training! It's going to be intense!" It's not technically a lie since he was thinking about the training; it's just not the complete truth.

"Oh yeah," Gohan replies. He had just gotten to the part in his tale where he was going to talk about his training anyways, so he thinks it's a good time to transition. His dad wasn't listening to his story anyways. Gohan turns his head to King Kai "When are we going to get started on that?"

"Well whenever you're ready," the deity answers. "The sooner you finish the sooner you can be wished back to Earth. Just keep in mind that this training will _not_ be easy. In fact, it may be the most difficult training you've ever had to do."

Gohan however has a determined look on his face. Challenging training has never deterred the demi-saiyan before; in fact, it usually just makes him more determined. "I'm ready King Kai!"

"I truly hope you are ready kid," King Kai responds. "You are going to be facing your biggest fears through this training."

Gohan nods in conformation to what King Kai is saying. Outside he is as determined as ever. Inside however, he is hesitant. He has a feeling what this training will consist of: gaining control and mastery of his super saiyan 2 form, mainly, dealing with his saiyan side.

"Alright," the deity of the north says, a smile creeping over his features. "Here's what you're going to do…"

King Kai explains what the training will consist of. He confirms the demi-saiyan's thoughts by explaining that he will indeed be dealing with his saiyan side. The deity explains what exactly he's looking for Gohan do and about merging the two sides, also stating the many benefits that the training will provide the demi-saiyan.

"This will be extremely difficult Gohan," King Kai stresses once more. "You can _not_ let your other side win. You will end up merging after this training regardless of who wins, but what you're battling for is control of the mind. If the other side wins, then he will take over your mind. Now I have confidence that you will win, otherwise I wouldn't let you go through this training, but you must have confidence in yourself. If you don't, this will all be for naught since he knows you inside and out and knows which buttons to push to make you cave." The blue deity pauses to allow the demi-saiyan to process his words.

Gohan really thinks through what he's about to go through. He has fought the voice before mentally, but he doesn't know what to expect in a physical confrontation. He knows that the voice is powerful, since it is basically the source of his power. However, after seeing how much faith his father and his children put in him on a consistent basis, he also has confidence in himself. There was a time when he would have doubted this faith, but his recent interactions with his father and his even more recent interactions with his children have crushed those doubts.

The demi-saiyan doesn't think he will be any more ready than he is at the moment, so he puts on his confident expression and looks King Kai in the eye. "I _will_ win King Kai!" his voice is soaked in confidence and determination. "Besides, the sooner I win, the sooner dad and I can return to Earth."

King Kai shoots Goku an apprehensive glance at Gohan's last statement. Gohan notices this and follows the glance to his father, who jumps, not expecting Gohan to look over at him. An apprehensive smile comes across his face, preying to Dende that his son doesn't connect the dots. He really doesn't want to tell him that he isn't coming back with him until after the merger.

Gohan doesn't buy his father's smile as a genuine one. He can tell something about what he just said is bothering him. "Dad…" Gohan says, looking back and forth between the blue deity and the full-blooded saiyan, both with nervous facades. "What's wrong? Don't you have confidence in me?" Seeing his father's nervous composure really throws the demi-saiyan for a loop. He just got done telling himself that his father has always had undeniable faith in him, but now that's been thrown into question by his father's worried look, and because of that, now he has less confidence in himself.

Goku notices this in his son and realizes what he's done. While his son didn't seem to notice that he was nervous about his last comment, he seemed to take his nervousness the wrong way as doubting that he will succeed in his training. Quickly he loses the apprehensive façade and gives his son a reassuring smile. "Gohan, I have more confidence in you than anything!"

"Then why were you so nervous when I told you that I would win?" Gohan asks quietly, his voice small and wavering. "You seemed to look like you were doubting me–"

"Gohan!" he cuts off his son. How many times must he go over this? His son was so confident before, but one apprehensive look makes all of that go away. He mentally scolds himself for letting himself look outwardly nervous. "We've been through this many times son. I have all of the confidence in the universe in you. Don't you dare doubt that just because I may appear nervous. If you must know, I was discussing with King Kai earlier about how your mom would react to finding out I died and then her reaction when I get back. When you mentioned us returning to Earth, I couldn't help but think about that conversation and I guess neither could King Kai."

Gohan smiles at his father and starts chuckling "Wow, I guess I can see why you got nervous!" Gohan manages to say between chuckles. "Mom can be pretty scary! Haha!" Gohan's confidence returns as he realizes that his father never doubted him. Goku also starts chuckling as he inwardly lets out a huge sigh in relief.

King Kai however gives Goku a glare from behind Gohan's back. He's mad that he's giving Gohan false hope only for it to be smashed later. While Gohan will be much more mentally and emotionally stable after the merger, this decision will not go over well with the young demi-saiyan, and giving him another reason to believe that his father is coming back with him will only make it more crushing for the demi-saiyan in the end. Who knows? He could end up _resenting_ his father for it!

Gohan turns around and faces the deity once again. By this time, King Kai's glare has subsided and his appearance is once again stoic. "Okay Gohan, you're ready. I have confidence in you as well. Now all you need to do is go into deep meditation like I showed you before, so get in your lotus position and calm yourself. Clear your mind just as your sensei taught you years ago. Feel the ki inside."

Gohan does just that. He drops to the ground and gets into the familiar lotus that he's been practicing for years. Like the other times, he clears his mind and focuses inward.

"Good," King Kai comments. "Now here's what you have to do. Let out your saiyan side. Let his full presence into your mind. This will create his physical presence in your mind. Then what you need to do is focus on your ki, and your ki alone. Once you are able to do this, you will create a physical presence for yourself inside your mind."

"That is the point of no return." The deity informs the demi saiyan. "Once you do that, you both will need to fuse, otherwise you will continue to be trapped in that state for the rest of time. Now from the bit that I saw when I let your father talk to you on Earth, he will not go down without a fight. You need to battle him out and win the battle in order to get him to comply. This is the trickiest part. Just like he needs you to willingly agree in order to gain complete control, you need his willing compliance to fuse. You must somehow convince him to allow you to fuse with him. Only when this happens will you gain complete control back and gain the benefits that I talked about earlier."

Gohan, who is in a meditative trance, merely nods his head to let the deity know he heard him. Then, after a slight hesitation, he does what the kai instructed him to. He starts by lowering the barriers in his mind that he has against his saiyan side, setting him free in his base form. He then focuses with all of his being on his ki. He suddenly feels like he is being sucked into his own body, signaling the battle has begun.

No matter what, Gohan will never be the same again.

* * *

Translations:

chibi- cute kid, dwarf

ki- energy

kai- god

sensei- teacher, master


	13. Reconciliation

**A/N: Hey hey! Yet another addition to the story! This chapter was actually written before the last one, but I ended up switching the order for multiple reasons. **

**If anyone believes the order should be the other way around for chapters 11 and 12, PM me and let me know your reasoning. I'm not ****guaranteeing that I'll change the order, but I will definitely take your feedback into consideration. **

**This chapter takes place during the same time frame as the last one and looks at the events from the perspective of the living. It contains more details on what happened on Earth after Gohan died. **

**I hope you enjoy! **

"dialogue"**  
**

_thoughts_

_"telepathic communication"_

~change in setting~

*action*

**flashback**

* * *

Chapter 12: Reconciliation 

~Battle Dome: Northern Arena, Intergalactic Tournament Grounds, Yahoi Island, Age 768~

Terror.

Pure terror.

This is the only emotion felt by the two future Son chibis as they are blown away by their father's winds; the only emotion going through their minds as they see that their father isn't powering down and pushing them farther as he attempts to fly towards them; the only emotion they feel as the setting melts away and is replaced with the deadly spiked wall which they are headed for; the only emotion going through their souls when they see their daddy come back to himself and save them, only to get trapped in some ki binds being unleashed by some alien that they have never seen before; the only emotion that goes through their heart as they witness their daddy slam into the spikes, spikes piercing him through his abdomen, chest, neck, left arm and right thigh….

Both chibis are too drowned in this very emotion to even realize what is going on at the moment, as they see Gohan, their father, hanging limp on the wall, the spikes he's hanging on keeping him secure to the wall, streams of blood running down the wall from each puncture through his body as the gruesome sight of their father becomes too much to bear.

Their father, the one that they met only a week ago, yet the person love more than anyone in the universe, is dead.

Rage.

This is the emotion that takes over their beings next, as they listen to the insane cackling from the alien that caused all of this; rage directed towards the alien for changing the setting that caused this; rage at the alien for trapping their daddy in a ki bind that he couldn't break in time to stop himself from crashing into the spiked wall; rage at the alien for actually _enjoying_ the fact that their daddy, the one person they cherish over everyone else, the one that they go to when in trouble, the one who gave them more comfort than anyone in the universe, the one that thought more of them than he thought of himself, was gone, dead because of something that bastard alien did.

Both Son chibis look at each other, seeing the other's identical rage, and then over where the sorry excuse of life in blue flesh is still admiring his work that is their dead father, cackling madly. Both in turn immediately scream an ear piercing shriek that could only be from someone who is feeling so much pain and rage that the only sound they can make it this sound. Instantly, a golden aura explodes around both chibis and engulfs both of their beings. This catches the attention of a certain blue skinned alien, his expression quickly changing from one of pleasure to one of fear. Both chibis look like stars on Earth, glowing balls of golden flame. The gust of wind that comes with this aura forces the alien put a ki shield around himself, just so he doesn't blow away from the sheer power.

When the golden globes of fire subside, the chibi's are revealed, both sporting hair glowing golden and eyes icy teal and radiating pure rage and fury upon the one that they look at as their separate golden auras combine in their close proximity to each other. If both had been at higher ki levels, they could have easily made the jump to the next level with the emotional distress that they are currently in. Still, even though they are not super saiyan 2's, their ki level is still higher than it's ever been before for both chibis, making it plenty enough to finish off the trembling blue alien in front of them. And that's exactly what they intend to do!

Both chibis look at each other, and nod in understanding. They then look back at the piece of trash that killed their father. Both chibis extend both of their hands above their heads, crossing one in front of the other and gather ki, getting ready to unleash their father's signature attack onto the creature that dare take the life so someone so dear to them.

* * *

Trunks stirs from his slumber at the sound of inhuman shrieks coming from across the arena. He immediately covers his sensitive ears as he hears this shriek. He tries to stand up, but finds it difficult in all of the wind that is starting to flood the area. The shriek that fills his ears completely disorients the demi-saiyan, and only after a few minutes can he get his composure back. It's then that he finally feels the skyrocketing powers of the two people he least expected to be there: Pan and Goken.

His initial reaction upon feeling them is what are they doing here? If he remembers correctly, there were ki barriers all around the place. Why would they be here if they didn't know there was any danger? However that question goes to the back of his mind as he feels the immense pain from them, a pain that he's only felt once before. That was when Gohan was ascending the first time at the Cell games. Something horrible must have happened if they are reacting this way!

The lavender haired demi-saiyan struggles to look around the arena through the intense winds radiating off of the two chibis he has come to know as his little siblings. He shields his eyes with his arm and looks around, desperately trying to find any evidence of the source of their despair. He finds that there are spiked walls to the arena and that's when his eyes widen in shock as he finds the object of pure agony for his poor little siblings…

About twenty feet in the air is Gohan's lifeless body, just hanging limply from the wall in which he is firmly planted. Although blood stopped flowing from his body, Trunks can see clearly the rivers of blood that were once flowing out of each punctured wound. There are five spikes sticking out of his being and the sight makes Trunks choke. He quickly looks away with tears staining his eyes, not wanting to see the sight any further, but can't help but look back as he notices something very strange that he's never seen before.

Gohan's body appears to be fading! Trunks closes his eyes and reopens them to look at the gruesome scene again, ignoring the winds. Indeed, Gohan's body suddenly looks transparent and it's fading even more now. Trunks doesn't take his eyes off of the scene until eventually the body fades into nothingness, the only evidence of it ever being there at all being the bloodied spikes and the dried blood on the wall from the open wounds.

"His body has been taken to Other World," a deep voice speaks from behind Trunks, making him jump and turn around to face the speaker of those words. "He will keep his body in Other World and train it. This is King Kai's work, as I believe they assume that we will wish him back as soon as we are able."

Piccolo had stirred the same time as Trunks had, from the seemingly inhuman scream from both Pan and Goken. He too had seen what has come of his gakusei. While outwardly, it seems that Piccolo is not affected in the least by Gohan's death, inside, he's devastated. Not only was Gohan a great warrior and his first student, he was also his first friend. Gohan was the one who put him on the path of righteousness; he was the one who changed the Demon King Piccolo Jr. to Piccolo, Guardian of the weak and defenseless; he was the one who made it possible for the once cruel and unbearable Namekian who was created from the very evil and hate of his predecessor to love. Gohan has affected the Namekian in so many positive ways that there's not a word strong enough to say how much the young demi-saiyan truly meant to him. However, it only takes him a glance at the two chibis in the middle of the arena creating the intense winds and bright golden light to put his heart at ease. He knows his gakusei will be avenged through those two.

Still though, he can't even imagine the pain those two children are going through over all of this if he is affected so deeply. He feels their incredibly high kis and can sense nothing but pure rage and pain throughout them, a rage that he's only felt once before: from his gakusei at the Cell games. It's then that he knows the true extent of their pain and can't help but feel apprehensive about the situation.

"What do you mean by taking his body to Other World in order to train it?" Trunks inquires his Namekian ally, bringing the green alien out of his musings. "What does he need to train in Other World for?"

Piccolo hesitates in his answer. "I'm not too sure myself, although I have a theory. I believe that King Kai has seen the struggle Gohan has had with his super saiyan 2 transformation and how he seems to lose control while in it. I think he wants to find out why that is and then train Gohan to properly use the transformation."

"I see," Trunks answers the Namekian. "Now that I think about it that makes sense. I remember Goku telling me about Gohan's struggles with it."

"Indeed." Piccolo curtly replies. "What I want to know now is how did those two know that something was going on here when there's obviously a ki barrier around the place."

"Is there?" Trunks questions. "I do remember there being one, but stretch out your senses a little. I know that Pan and Goken are drowning out all of the low powers, but can't you feel all of our friends outside this arena?"

Piccolo does just that and he indeed can feel the rest of the Z-fighters outside the arena just to the south. "You're right Trunks! The ki barrier must have been destroyed somehow earlier while we were out of commission."

Trunks puts on an apprehensive face as he feels around the area and cannot find the ki of a specific person. "That's strange, where's Goku?" He thinks out loud. "If the ki barrier is down shouldn't he be coming here after feeling these two? I know he can get here fast with his instant transmission."

"I hate to say this, but it's the only thing I can think of that would make sense in this situation." Piccolo starts before pausing to take a deep breath. After a few moments Piccolo finally speaks again, masking his true emotion behind a tone of indifference. "I believe that Goku died as well."

Trunks stares at Piccolo for a moment with wide eyes before he responds. "NO!" He denies adamantly, not wanting to believe it. "He can't be dead!"

Piccolo sighs, resisting the urge to yell at the demi-saiyan for being so naïve. "Trunks, I know Goku better than you do and I can't see any other explanation for him not being here other than the fact that he's not alive. I may not have liked the man as much as most, but I respected him for two reasons: one was that he was an incredible fighter, and the other was because he always selfless and put others, especially his family and friends first. Think about it Trunks. His grandkids are powering up like they're going to the next level, yet he's not here. I just can't see him not being here protecting Pan and Goken if he were alive."

Piccolo's expression changes to a slightly more somber one as he continues with his explanation as to why he has concluded that Goku died. "However, the one thing that confirms my suspicion that Goku is dead is the fact that Gohan is dead. I know for a _fact_ that he would more than willingly sacrifice himself if it meant that his son lived. I'm sure that Bojack or whoever else was there that Gohan was fighting killed Goku since Goku probably interrupted whatever fight Gohan was in in order to save him. I know that it is impossible for Gohan to be dead, but Goku to be alive since Goku would never let his son get killed."

Piccolo's words hit Trunks like a ton of bricks. There is no denying the Namekian's flawless logic. Trunks then finally accepts that Goku indeed must be gone.

Trunks' head is spinning. Not only is Gohan dead, but Goku is as well? This is too much for the demi-saiyan as his ki suddenly skyrockets, knocking Piccolo backwards from the sudden ki output. Trunks is extremely angry not only at Bojack and his gang, but himself for not being strong enough to help. His power almost instantly reaches that of a super saiyan and he completes the transformation faster than he ever has. His hair shoots up in spikes and turns golden as his deep sapphire eyes turn a hardened teal.

As Piccolo regains his footing, he urgently tries to get Trunks to calm down. "Trunks!" He shouts through all of the wind. "You need to calm down!"

"They're dead Piccolo!" Trunks furiously shouts back. "Both Goku _and _Gohan are! Goku treated me like I was his own in this timeline and Gohan…. Gohan meant as much to me as my mother! I can't let them die in vain!"

"Trunks get a grip!" Piccolo retorts. Does the fool really think he doesn't realize that? Heck, he had to explain to _him_ that Goku was indeed gone.

Piccolo understands what the adult demi-saiyan is going through. While Goku was his enemy for the longest time, ever since he fought with him side-by-side, he has been growing more and more fond of the Earth-raised saiyan each time he has come in contact with him until eventually, he ended up becoming one of his most trusted and valuable allies. While he might not like him on the scale he likes Gohan, he respects the man more than anyone. Once the Namekian realized Goku died along with his son, he internally was completely lost. He was disbelieving at not only how the two most powerful warriors in the universe were defeated, but also how the one he considered his own kin and the one he considered to be his greatest ally were dead. He completely understands where Trunks' rage comes from.

At the same time, Trunks' comment really pisses off the Namekian because of this fact, like the demi-saiyan thinks he doesn't care about their deaths. He realizes however that it's not Trunks' fault that he said that. After all, he's blinded by rage at the moment and is probably taking Piccolo's outward stoic appearance the wrong way, so Piccolo relieves the anger he feels at the demi-saiyan for the moment and tries to get him to come to his senses and calm down.

"Look over there and think for a minute!" He points to the middle of the arena where Pan and Goken are now staring down a small blue alien who is now trembling in fear. They both have their hands outstretched above their heads in a familiar gesture that says that they are charging a ki blast. "Let those two take care of it! Their deaths probably hurt them both more than anyone, and they are more than capable!"

Trunks glances over to the center of the arena and instantly recognizes what they are doing. They are planning to blast the blue alien away with their father's signature attack. He suddenly remembers how much pain he felt from them earlier and realizes Piccolo is right. If anyone is to avenge Goku and Gohan it's them. Trunks' anger subsides as he gets his ki under control; however, he stays transformed in case something goes wrong and he needs to step in; he will _not_ allow the kids that he considers siblings to die as well!

Piccolo internally sighs in relief when he sees Trunks back off. Piccolo's real concern was not that Trunks couldn't take care of the monster, but what would happen if he stepped in. He knows from Gohan how unstable control is under the amount of rage and pain both Pan and Goken are under. He knows that it makes them do things that they would otherwise not do. The Namekian's real worry was that Trunks would step in and then Pan and Goken would both attack _him_. This isn't an unrealistic reaction in his mind; he still hasn't forgotten that Gohan had legitimately threatened to kill his own father if he interfered during the Cell Games, and judging by the amount of ki he can feel coming off of both chibis, he knows that they would have the power to severely hurt both him and Trunks.

Pan and Goken continue to charge their ki in their hands. Sparks of ki become bright yellow balls of pure, concentrated ki in their hands. Bujin still has his ki shield up, and since he can't use his ki binds while the shield is up, he only prays to whatever deity he worships that it will hold against these attacks. He can tell that these two kids have enough power to finish him a few times over, but he really hopes that his ki shield can absorb the majority of the blast.

Finally, the two enraged chibis have gathered enough ki to launch their attack. Once again, they look at each other's identical expressions of fury and nod to each other, signaling that they understand that it's time to finally end this nightmare and avenge their father.

"MASENKO HA!" they both shout at the top of their lungs, both thrusting their hands forward towards the blue alien in unison. Golden ki blasts out of their hands, each blast having a large diameter. The blasts are so close that they combine into one gigantic ki beam, which completely obliterates its target. To Bujin's credit, the ki shield holds for a couple of seconds, but the sheer power and penetrating force of the masenko soon is too much; after the ki shield was down he was eliminated faster than the blink of an eye.

Soon, an explosion ensues and the Masenko blasts through the spiked wall… and heads off into the sky through space where the beam dissipates before it can strike anything else. Luckily the Sons were both facing the north and not the south where all of the innocent people are. After the attack finally dissipates, and neither chibi can find any trace of the blue-skinned alien's ki, they both drop their intense transformations and promptly faint from exhaustion. They had put all of their physical and emotional strength into that beam, and the extreme energy level that both chibis were at really took a toll on their young bodies.

* * *

Piccolo and Trunks look at the situation in awe. They knew that both Pan and Goken were strong, but they never expected that! They've never seen something get just completely obliterated quite as easily as that before either! Trunks is just glad that they actually didn't inherit Gohan's apparent need to torture someone when enraged like that; he couldn't even begin to imagine how he would have reacted if he had to witness something like that again.

After a few minutes of letting everything sink in, both the Namekian and demi-saiyan walk over to the two chibis to make sure they're alright. After a thorough inspection, each child of Gohan is determined to not even have a scratch on them, and they figure that they are just exhausted. One thing that does concern them however is their expressions; they look as if they both were in some sort of nightmare.

"Wow they look like they're suffering even when they aren't even conscious…" Trunks comments, frowning at how his two little siblings' expressions.

"Don't worry Trunks," Piccolo says in a surprisingly comforting tone. In fact, Trunks had to turn around and look at Piccolo to make sure that it was actually the Namekian that said that. Ignoring Trunks' surprise, Piccolo continues, "They'll be fine. They are Gohan's children after all."

Trunks nods at the Namekian and then sighs. "Well, I'm glad they got to avenge their father at least," he comments, now dropping his own transformation that he still was sustaining just in case. The demi-saiyan is genuinely proud of the two for what he just witnessed, and shows it as a small smile suddenly comes on his face. It's still a somber mood however since the deaths of Goku and Gohan are still on his mind.

"Well, at least the threat is over," Piccolo adds, void of emotion once again. He is so empty right now, more empty than he's ever felt as the death of his gakusei sets in. This is such a new feeling to the Namekian that he really has no clue how to deal with it at the moment. "Now we just need to work on gathering the dragonballs."

Trunks bows his head in a gesture that signals agreement with his green ally's statement, his eyes still on the chibis in front of him. The recent deaths start hit home with the demi-saiyan, and tears start welling up in his eyes. Trunks grew up in a world without dragonballs so death hits the future demi-saiyan much harder than most of the Z-fighters of this timeline. It's much more permanent to him, so even with the prospect of wishing them both back, their deaths still have a sense of absolution with him, causing a stronger emotional reaction from him. Finally, he can't hold back and starts freely crying over the death of his sensei and his father… again. This is only the third time he's had such an emotional breakdown, and all three times it's been because of the same person. This really shows how much his sensei meant to him.

Piccolo and Trunks are too caught up in mourning their fellow comrades in their own way to see a smile suddenly appear in Goken's face. A few minutes later, a smile appears on Pan's face as well.

* * *

A little ways away, Pan starts to stir from the depths of unconsciousness. Since she's older than Goken and because she has more power than the boy at the moment, her body is more durable against the strain of all of the ki flow. She blinks her eyes a couple of times and then tries to remember where she is. As she regains her senses, she sees her Uncle Trunks… crying? Why is he crying? Is it because her daddy died? But daddy told her that he's okay and that he's having fun in a place called Other World. He told her that he's extremely proud of her and Goken for so many reasons, and to not be sad over his death because he'll be home as soon as he gets some really important training done with a man named King Kai. Although she doesn't know how he will be brought back at the moment, she trusts her daddy wholeheartedly that he will come back.

Why is Uncle Trunks so sad then? Is it because grandpa died as well? But daddy told her that grandpa's having a blast with him in Other World! He told her that grandpa's using the opportunity to spend some quality time with him! Although she wants to spend time with both of them as well, she's happy with that fact that they're both happy.

How can Uncle Trunks be sad over them when they're so happy? Sure, she wishes that they both didn't have to go to Other World, and she wishes that they were here as well. She really wants to see her daddy and give him a big hug for saving both her and Goken's lives; however, she refuses to be sad about them if they're happy and having fun, plus her daddy says that they're coming back really soon anyways. All she has to do is be patient, and she inherited her very great patience from her father.

Pan wants to cheer up Trunks so that he's not sad anymore! He's cheered her up so many times in the past and now it her turn to return the favor. She makes her way across the still spiked walled arena and over to her morose sensei and father figure. She kind of feels bad that she hasn't been spending much time with her Uncle Trunks lately, with all of the excitement of meeting daddy and grandpa and all, but if he had any problem with it, he never showed it. That's another thing she loves about her adoptive uncle: he isn't the jealous type. He knew how much meeting their father meant to them, so he probably went out of his way to make sure that they got to spend as much time with him as they could, even though that meant less time with him, and for that, she is extremely grateful. Of course she can see where he got that caring nature from when you look at the two people that raised him the majority of his life.

Trunks looks up when he all of a sudden feels small arms wrap around his torso from behind, stopping his sobs for the moment, although a few tears escape his eyes. He turns his head and immediately wipes his eyes as he sees Pan hugging him from behind.

"Uncle Trunks, don't be sad," Pan soothes with surprising skill for an eleven-year-old. "You don't have to be sad over daddy and grandpa because they're not sad. They're happy!"

Trunks turns his body and sits up. His face is one of genuine surprise; not only is Pan not sad that her dad is gone, but she's telling him not to be sad either! This concerns Trunks since he feels that it's unnatural to take the death of the person he thought they loved more than anyone so well, especially an eleven-year-old girl.

"Daddy and grandpa are having so much fun in Other World," Pan continues, now positioning herself in Trunks' lap. "They told me themselves!"

"They spoke to you from Other World?" Trunks asks the girl, stunned at this new development. How could they talk to her when they died?

"Yep!" a new voice suddenly chirps happily in the background. Both Trunks and Pan turn to see Goken, smiling right beside them. Trunks still wears a bewildered expression but Pan smiles up at her little brother from where she's sitting and scoots over in Trunks' lap to make room for him. Goken obliges and quickly takes a seat next to his sister. He smiles at her and then looks up at Trunks, beaming. The excitement in his expression makes Trunks crack a smile for the first time in a while.

"They talked to you both?" Trunks asks again. The chibis both nod their heads in confirmation and Trunks can't help but ask, "How?"

Goken giggles at Trunks' surprised expression and Pan smiles warmly. "In our dreams silly!" Goken replies like it's the most obvious thing in the world. "How else could we talk to them when we were asleep?"

"Anyways," Pan continues for her brother, "They told us that they are happy and that they are having fun doing some special training in Other World. Daddy told us that they'll both be back as soon as they're done, so there's really nothing to be sad about Uncle Trunks! They're happy and we will see them again in no time!"

"Yeah, yeah!" Goken chirps excitedly, bouncing up and down in Trunks' lap. How the chibi suddenly got all of this energy after just waking up from an exhaustion induced comatose state is a mystery to all. "Daddy and grandpa are so cool! Even after they die they still get special training!"

Trunks can't help but chuckle at the chibis enthusiasm, which makes Pan give him the ever famous Son grin. She's glad that she and Goken were finally able to cheer up the depressed demi-saiyan. "See Uncle Trunks, there's nothing to be sad about!" she tells him enthusiastically.

"You're right Pan," He says with genuine happiness. He then wraps one arm around each chibi, giving them both a semi-hug. "Thanks you two. You really are amazing you know that?"

Pan puts on a playful smirk. "Oh we know it alright!" She then looks around and spots Piccolo standing in the background staring at the wall opposite the one with the hole in it from the blast. She never even noticed that the Namekian was there since she was too concerned with Trunks. She jumps out of Trunks lap and happily walks over to her green friend.

She has no clue what Trunks meant when he said that Piccolo was cold to everyone in a similar fashion to Uncle Vegeta! He's been so friendly to her and Goken since he met her and he's smiled at them plenty of times, very contradictory to what Trunks had told them. Sure, he seemed like he was stoic on the outside to most people, but he's shown genuine kindness to both her and her brother, along with daddy!

"Hey Mr. Piccolo!" she greets him enthusiastically. She then notices that he's focusing on the wall with a great intensity. She becomes confused by his rather odd behavior and cocks her head to the side as she asks, "What are you doing?"

"Vegeta's trying to blast through the wall from the outside," Piccolo responds, not taking his attention off the wall for a second. "I must say I have to give the engineers who built this facility credit. These walls so far are absorbing most of the ki, but it's only a matter of time before he gets frustrated and ends up powering up to destroy the wall."

"Why is Uncle Vegeta trying to blast through the wall?" Pan asks curious as to why he would need to. "We've taken care of all of the bad guys."

"I'm not quite sure myself Pan. By the way, get ready, he just transformed and I don't want you getting hit by one of these spikes." Showing concern that he reserves for Gohan and his kids. He will not let what is left of Gohan get hurt in any way.

Pan takes that as her cue to get out of the way. No sooner than she rushed back to the center of the arena where Trunks and her brother are does the south wall suddenly explode, making pieces of spiked wall fly all over the place. In the new hole in the wall floats a very irritated super saiyan Vegeta, clutching his ears in pain. Through the hole, one can see the empty Central Arena of the Battle Dome, save the Z-gang. When the stadium started shaking as Gohan powered up to super saiyan 2, everyone fled in a panic, thinking that there was a massive earthquake.

The one thing that everyone notices right away after the sudden explosion is wailing, and _loud _wailing, one of pure sadness and grief, coming from an infant. That's when Pan notices that the source of that noise is none other than her infant Uncle Goten. _I think we've found out why Uncle Vegeta was desperately trying to get through_. She internally chuckles.

However, her internal chuckles are replaced with an outward face of concern as she sees her uncle continue to cry like no other as her grandmother desperately tries to comfort him without any success. She has a hunch she knows why.

Over the week that she's been with her family from the past, she couldn't help but notice how close Goten seemed to be with his brother. Every time Gohan was even in the vicinity, he would always want to either be held by the eldest demi-saiyan, or be played with by him. Being the bright young scholar that she is, Pan had deduced that Goten, for some reason unknown to the universe, could actually _sense_ his brother, and it seemed like every time he did, he would immediately be comforted by merely his presence. If he was crying before, he would stop as soon as Gohan appeared; if he was with someone else, he would immediately indicate that Gohan was near by stretching his arms out in the direction that he was in.

Pan has a feeling that Goten had sensed that Gohan's ki had disappeared, despite him being in a completely different arena. Since he could no longer feel the comforting presence of his brother, Goten was in a distraught state. He's devastated that his brother had passed away and she's guessing that he hasn't stopped crying since the incident, hence why Vegeta was desperate to get away.

Pan has a plan to get Goten to calm down however. Earlier, while they were watching Krillin fight Trunks, she couldn't help but notice how Goten had a similar reaction to her younger brother. Although not quite as strong of a reaction that he has with Gohan, she noticed that Goten reacted much stronger to Goken than anyone else besides Gohan, even his own parents! Then, during the finals while waiting for the screens to start working, she noticed that Goten was woken up abruptly from his slumber as was about to start crying; however, once he noticed Goken was nearby, he put on a smile and stop his tears in their progress, reaching out towards his future nephew showing his desire to be with him.

She figures that this is due to the fact that Goken's ki signature is almost identical to Gohan's, giving him the familiar feeling that he gets from his older brother, hence why he seems to be unusually attached to Goken as well. If her assumptions are correct, Pan has a feeling that if she can get her younger brother within 'sensing' range for Goten, then he will calm down and latch to him.

At this point, all of those with sensitive hearing expect Pan, who is deep in thought drowning out her surroundings, and even a few of the others as well, have their hands clamped their hands to their ears as the wailing continues to ring through the air. Finally Vegeta's had enough.

"Someone get that kakabrat to _shut up_ already!" the saiyan prince shouts in pure irritation. "He's been crying nonstop for the last half hour!"

"Vegeta!" Bulma furiously shouts back at her husband. "You're not helping!"

Pan figures that now is the best time to put her plan into action. "Hey Goken! Come here for a minute!" Pan shouts to her brother through all of the commotion.

Goken gives his sister a curious look, but complies nonetheless. "What is it neesan?"

"I think I have a way to calm Uncle Goten down. I want you to go over there and try to see if he reacts to your presence."

Goken looks at his sister skeptically. "What would that do?"

"I have a theory that he will find your ki signature very close to dad's and be comforted by your presence."

The eight-year-old looks at his sister disbelievingly. "Are you sure that will work Pan?"

"Well why don't you try it out and we'll see!" she quickly says to her brother, rolling her eyes. Honestly, sometimes her brother can be _too_ skeptical, a trait that he definitely inherited from his mother. Goken however just shrugs and starts walking over to the hole in the spiked south wall. Pan watches the situation intently as her plan gets underway.

Pan grins from ear to ear when she finds that she was right. Much to the disbelief of the Z-fighters, as soon as Goken gets within two feet of the wall separating the arenas, Goten immediately calms down, sensing a very familiar ki that feels so much like his brother. Now feeling the ever so familiar ki, the chibi is soothed by the reappearance and gestures towards the stunned eight-year-old, who had thought that Pan's plan wouldn't work. Chichi, who is currently holding Goten, can only gape as Goken walks over to her and gently takes his uncle into his arms.

The infant immediately snuggles into Goken, making himself comfortable. Goken can only look down with curious eyes as the infant continues to shift around in his arms contentedly. He had no idea that his presence was this comforting to his infant uncle! Pan was right; perhaps he does have such a similar ki signature to his daddy that Goten is able to distinguish his ki as one that comforts the chibi. Goken's expression quickly turns to a grin, and in very Gohan-like fashion, he rubs his head against Goten's forehead, eliciting delightful giggles from the infant. Goken continues to play with and sooth Goten in similar manners that he saw his daddy do, and it all seems to be working! Pretty soon, Goten drifts off into a contented slumber in his future nephew's arms.

Pan walks over to her bother and puts her hand on his shoulder, a smirk on her face. "Told you it would work," Pan tells Goken quietly, not wanting to disturb Goten.

Goken sends his sister a mock glare, but it quickly turns into a grin as he looks down at his now sleeping uncle in his arms. "Yeah I guess you were right," He finally manages to whisper, again not wanting to disturb the precious life in his arms. "How did you know?"

"Well," Pan starts. "Do you remember when you wanted to hold Goten during Uncle Trunks' semi-finals match?"

Goken puts it together quickly and finally realizes exactly how she figured it out. He remembers how Goten reacted when he had finally sat down in the stands. That was the first time that Goken had ever been around his uncle without his father with him, so the future chibi just assumed that he reacted that way with everyone. He now realizes however that he was just reacting to someone who he thought was his brother.

"I get it," He says, putting two and two together. "You saw how he reacted when we came into the stands didn't you? I remember now! I just thought that he was that happy with everyone! He does seem like an incredibly happy baby. But now I realize that he really only seemed that anxious to be with daddy! Does my ki really feel _that_ much like daddy's?" The chibi suddenly asks no one in particular.

"Heh," Piccolo finally huffs, a smirk on his face as he looks down at the chibi who only reaches his waist in height. "Even I have a hard time distinguishing between you two sometimes. You both act and feel so similar, that I would swear that you're him with a different haircut sometimes."

Goken beams at Piccolo as he says this. He _loves_ getting compared to his daddy. To him, his daddy is one of the most amazing people in the world! Any comparisons to his daddy are the best praises he can get.

Everyone is interrupted by a loud cough by the saiyan prince, getting the attention of everyone. "Now that the brat is quiet and I can finally think again, someone tell me what the hell has been going on here! Now!"

"Vegeta!" Bulma shouts at her husband. "There are children here! Watch the language!"

Vegeta is about to shout back, but figures that it would just start a war of pointless bickering from the woman so he restrains himself for the time being. "Tell me what happened!" Vegeta demands once more, glaring at the four in the arena still. "We already know that Kakarot and his eldest brat are dead, but I can't wrap my head around who was able to kill two saiyans! Explain!"

Everyone looks over at the quartet standing in the middle of the spiky walled arena with anticipation, forgetting their grief from their two lost loved ones for the moment, wanting to get an explanation for what has been going on. Trunks looks over at Piccolo first and he nods in confirmation of Vegeta's demand. He then looks at Pan and Goken, who grin back at him and nod their heads. "Okay," Trunks starts. "When did the ki barrier break? What could you guys feel?"

"The first thing we could feel was Gohan when he was powering up to super saiyan 2," Krillin answers the lavender haired demi-saiyan. "and… when Goku died…" Krillin trails off, fighting back tears once more, but he is able to suppress them this time.

Trunks, who thanks to Pan and Goken, is not really sad about their deaths, only nods in confirmation. "Alright, well I'll tell you guys everything I know, and then Piccolo will give his story sense we started in separate arenas with ki barriers between them."

Trunks starts off by telling them his story about when he arrived to his arena. He told them how strange it was that he couldn't sense outside the arena and tells the gang about how he was ambushed by a strange blue alien. He tells them about how he was beating the alien until it somehow transformed into a green-skinned version and became much more powerful. Everyone gets wide eyed when he continues his tale by saying that he was actually losing to the alien until Piccolo arrived, fighting another green alien, and then they gasp when he tells them about how the aliens fled using instant transmission once Trunks was healed.

"That certainly explains how they got here from so far away," Tien comments, a thoughtful expression present on his face. "From what we could feel earlier, we're pretty sure that the guys that attacked you had something to do with that evil ki that Goku, Gohan and Piccolo told us about."

"Correct," Piccolo says in confirmation. Piccolo then starts to tell his tale to the Z-gang. He tells them about how he fought and easily disposed of a female alien by sending her through a wall, which luckily led to Trunks' arena. He skips over the parts that Trunks had told them about and starts talking about how when they tried to break through to get to the next arena over, that they actually made it outside the entire Battle Dome Complex. Apparently, the Northern Arena was isolated from the other three arenas, as it was by itself on the north side of the Main Arena whereas the other three arenas were on the south side, connected to each other in a linear fashion. Piccolo assumed that this was strategy by the extremely powerful alien who he finally identifies as 'Bojack.'

"When Trunks and I arrived to the Northern arena, this very arena we are standing in, Gohan was trapped in these pink glowing wires that were extending from a small alien like the ones we were fighting before. It seemed like they were draining Gohan's ki through those binds he was in." He continues by explaining how Trunks and him freed his gakusei and started fighting Bojack as a team. Everyone's eyes widen when he says that they actually had to team up against the alien to even get a fair fight in.

"Eventually, he overwhelmed us." Trunks finally says, frustration clear in his voice. "First he took me out. I was knocked out from that point until Goken and Pan were powering up so I have no clue what happened after that, how either Goku or Gohan died, or what happened to Bojack and the others besides the alien that these two blew away." Trunks gestures to the two Sons from the future.

"After Trunks was taken out, I was easily disposed of," Piccolo continues, his voice laced with disgust. "The last thing I remember before coming to again was telling Gohan to kill Bojack for us. Neither of us know how either Gohan or Goku died."

"Uhh… we know how daddy died…" Goken timidly speaks up, catching everyone's attention. Even though their deaths don't make the chibi sad, the sight of his father's death still plagues the poor chibi's memory, and it probably will for the rest of his life. "He died trying to save Pan and I…" he then gestures over to the blood stained spikes causing everyone to gasp once again as he looks down in guilt.

For the first time since the event happened, Goken feels responsible for his father's death. Even though daddy said not to worry about it and that he'll be back soon, the poor child can't help but feel a little guilty about it; however, he suddenly remembers his daddy's words:

"_**I know you feel guilty about my death, but you shouldn't because if you guys wouldn't have shown up, I may not be dead, but I know that I would not have been alive either. You guys don't realize it, but your mere presence helped me come back to my senses. I cannot thank you two enough for what you did for me, so I want you to know that I don't blame you at all, for you guys saved me from a fate worse than death by being there… just think of me saving your lives as a bit of repayment for everything you did for me, although I would have done it for you anyways even if you hated me with all of your guts. Just remember that I did it because I love you guys more than anything in the universe." **_

Goken can't help but smile as he thinks of his daddy's words to him. He said that he doesn't blame them and that _they're_ the ones that saved _him_! If it was anyone else that said that he would have been skeptical that they weren't telling the truth, but he believes his daddy one hundred percent!

Pan was about to go over to her brother to comfort him when he smiles up at the rest of the Z-gang. "He saved us and we avenged him by beating the bad guy that was responsible. He told us that he was proud of us and that he didn't blame us, that we actually saved him!"

"Yeah," Pan continues, smiling both in relief that her brother's alright and in remembrance of her daddy's words as well. "He told us that him and grandpa are having fun in Other World, getting some special training with King Kai, and he told us that he will be back really soon!"

"Oh yeah, We can wish them back with the dragonballs!" Bulma suddenly shouts in glee. "I almost forgot about that." All of the other Z-fighters besides Piccolo (who already suggested looking for the dragonballs to Trunks) and Trunks (who was reminded by Piccolo) mentally slap their foreheads for forgetting about the magical orbs as well.

"See Auntie Bulma," Pan tells the blue haired genius. "There's nothing to be sad about because daddy told us that he's happy and coming home soon!"

Something strikes Bulma as odd with the chibis tale however and she can't help but be skeptical. "Wait…" Bulma suddenly says, a curious look in her eyes. "How was Gohan able to talk to you two when he was already gone?"

Goken rolls his eyes like the answer is the most obvious thing in the world. This is the third time that they've had to explain this to someone. "He talked to Pan and I telepathically using King Kai obviously! Come on Auntie Bulma, you should know better than anyone since you've talked to someone who was dead before. I remember you, well your future counterpart I guess, telling us a story about after grandpa defeated Frieza, and you told us that Mr. Yamcha talked to you through King Kai, even though he was dead, to tell you about everything happening on Namek!"

Bulma blushes a little in embarrassment as she now recalls fully what the chibi is talking about. This causes cette chibi to giggle in amusement, making Bulma huff and try to defend herself. "Hey, in my defense, that was five years ago, so I was bound to forget!" This just causes more laughter from Goken.

As Goken continues to laugh, baby Goten stirs in his arms and starts laughing with him. This causes Pan to start laughing and in a chain reaction, everyone eventually laughs at one point or another except Vegeta and Piccolo (obviously), although the latter sports an amused smirk on his face.

As soon as the laughter dies down, everyone agrees to contact New Namek and ask the Namekians if they could use their dragonballs to wish Goku and Gohan back (since Goku had already died twice) after they're finished with their training in Other World.

Yep. It seems now that Bokack and his gang are gone and the ones that died defeating them are returning to the land of the living, that everything on Earth has indeed been reconciled.

However...

The same cannot be said for a certain preteen demi-saiyan, who is currently in the battle of his life back in Other World...

* * *

Translations:

chibi- cute child, dwarf

ki- energy

kai- god

neesan- older sister (informal)

sensei- teacher, master

gakusei- student


	14. Battle of the Mind

**A/N: Hey hey! Here is one of the more anticipated chapters in the story! The start of his battle with his saiyan side!**

**I will warn you; there is a pattern to this chapter. It may seem a little redundant, but everything that happens is incredibly important as I wanted to get the true depth of how difficult the battle actually is.**

**This is one of my favorite chapters. I loved writing it. I hope you guys like it as much as I do! As always, reviews will help out tons. Let me know what you guys think and it will come a long way into making both this story and my future stories better!**

"dialogue"

_thoughts/mind_

_"telepathic communication"_

~change in setting~

*action*

**flashback**

* * *

Chapter 13: Battle of the Mind

_~Inside Gohan's Mind, Age 768~_

_Gohan finds himself in a place surrounded by all white. He recognizes this from his escapades in the minds of his children from the future and concludes that he was successful in entering his own mind. He then looks down, and unlike when he was talking to Pan and Goken, he finds that he has a body this time. He smirks as he realizes that what King Kai told him had worked to perfection. _

_The place seems silent as if the young demi-saiyan is all alone. Gohan finds this odd. Isn't his saiyan side supposed to be here? Where is he? Gohan tries to extend his senses in order to find him, but can't get even a faint signal. The demi-saiyan concludes that he either can't sense him, or he is suppressing his ki. _

_Gohan starts walking around the seemingly endless whiteness that is his mind. As he walks around, he can't help but chuckle. _Is my mind really this empty?_ He continues to go into the emptiness, looking around visually and keeping his ki senses alert on the off-chance that he gets a signal from the voice. _

_The demi-saiyan is getting frustrated as he continues to try and locate his saiyan side. It seems that no matter where he looks, he can't find it. _Perhaps I didn't create an opportunity for it to make a physical presence?_ He can't help but wonder if the saiyan side knew what he was trying to do and actually refused to invade his mind when Gohan removed the barriers. _

_Gohan continues to ponder these thoughts when all of a sudden, he feels two extremely strong kis. He immediately shifts his gaze towards where the two kis are lighting up his senses, and only finds white openness. _

_This confuses the demi-saiyan on multiple levels. For one, why can't he see what is exerting such strong ki signals? Both of these signals rival that of his maximum power transformed as a super saiyan 2! He deduces that the ki must be farther up in that direction and he starts heading that way._

_As he continues to walk towards the two gigantic powers, he continues to ponder. Why are there _two_ signals? The demi-saiyan was under the assumption that he only had to fight his saiyan side, and the presence of the second signal confuses him. _

_As he is trying to figure this out he starts to feel the kis more clearly and deduces that one ki seems to be as cold as liquid nitrogen whereas the other one seems to be warm and overall very pleasant. This only adds to the confusion of the demi-saiyan. There's a presence in his mind that is absolutely pure darkness and another that is pure light? What does this mean? The two kis, despite being complete opposites of each other, don't seem to be fighting or battling. What is going on here?_

_Gohan finally sees a speck in the distance in front of him. He picks up his pace and the object becomes more defined as the demi-saiyan gets closer. He is now able to distinguish another object along with the first one and can conclude that these are the ones who are exerting the excruciatingly powerful ki signals. The demi-saiyan finally makes his way up to the objects of interest and can't help but gape, both in confusion and in awe._

_The objects look like two gigantic crystals of equal height and width. One is an extremely dark purple, almost black. The other one is pure white, blending into the background of the setting. If it wasn't radiating a faint glowing golden aura, it would be quite difficult to even be able to see its existence. The dark crystal is radiating a faint glowing golden aura as well. One thing that takes the demi-saiyan aback though is the sheer size of the crystals. They must be at least a few stories tall!_

_A simple ki scan would be able to tell what crystal is radiating what ki. The almost black crystal is radiating the extremely cold ki signal while the white one is exerting the pure, warm one. This answers some of the demi-saiyans questions, but leads to many more. Why are these crystals here? How are they so powerful? Why are they emitting ki at all? What does this mean?_

"So, you've finally made it," _a soprano voice suddenly speaks out of nowhere, making Gohan jump in surprise. He knows that voice. The very sound of it makes him sick. He turns around slowly and finds himself face to face with… himself? _

_Indeed Gohan finds himself looking at himself straight in the eyes. He is identical to the demi-saiyan right down to the purple gi he's wearing. There are however two distinct differences between the two. The 'new' Gohan has a furry brown tail extending from his backside, wiggling freely and contentedly; the second key difference between the two Gohans is that the 'new' Gohan has a very cold, hard look in his onyx eyes that don't show a trace of compassion in any way whereas the original Gohan has eyes filled with emotion and tenderness. It doesn't take Gohan long to conclude that this is the target that he has been searching for the whole time._

_His saiyan side._

_Gohan can't say he's surprised at what he looks like. After all, the voice is him, just his saiyan half. Obviously he would look like himself as a saiyan. But what confuses Gohan in all of this is that he still can't feel a ki signature from him. He's standing right in front of him; even if he is suppressing his ki, there should still be at least a faint signal from him. _

"I was beginning to wonder if you were ever going to show up." _the saiyan Gohan continues, a cunning smirk on his face. _"I was about to conclude that you were too afraid to confront me, just like you're too afraid to save the ones you love."

_Gohan, used to the insults from his saiyan side by now, takes them as merely words. He smirks back as he replies. _"Well I see you are as charming as ever," _Gohan retorts smartly. _"That's no way to get someone to let you take control of their mind."

_Saiyan Gohan chuckles darkly after that comment. Who knew his host could be so funny? _"Ah, but I am merely stating truths," _he continues. His tone is calm and collected, signaling that he is confident in his abilities to persuade his host. _"I have multiple examples to choose from, dating from all the way back to when you were merely three years old to as recently as today. You choose which one I should use." _He smirks again after he finishes all of this. _

_Gohan drops the grin as he takes in what his saiyan side just said. He knows what the voice just told him is fact. It is true that people have gotten severely hurt, or have died because he was afraid. As soon as thoughts of self-loathing come into Gohan's mind, the purple crystal starts to glow brighter and sends it's golden aura to Saiyan Gohan. He then starts to feel a ki signal from his saiyan side, a dark ki signal, and it starts rising. The golden aura from the dark crystal continues to surround the saiyan side until eventually it dissipates. Now Saiyan Gohan is approximately as strong as Gohan is at his max in his base form. _

_Gohan looks at what just took place with wide eyes. _Did he just draw power from the purple crystal? How did he do that?_ Gohan is stuck in these thoughts when all of a sudden, his saiyan side charges him. _

_The original demi-saiyan smirks as he sees his saiyan side charge him. Does he really think that his base power alone will be enough to defeat him? Gohan drops into a stance and tries to gather his ki… only to find that he doesn't' have any ki to gather. _

What is happening?!_ The demi-saiyan silently wonders, stunned that he can't gather any ki._ Why don't I have any ki?!

_Gohan can only try his best to defend himself as his saiyan side attacks, but without the aid of his ki, he finds it impossible. Saiyan Gohan starts a relentless assault on the original Gohan. Punch after punch and kick after kick connect with his target, and finally, he sends a finishing blow for the combo and uppercuts Gohan in the jaw, sending the poor demi-saiyan flying backwards through the air and landing on his back with a 'thud.'_

_Saiyan Gohan cackles at his host's weakness. _"Common Gohan, I expected you to put up at least a little fight!"

_Blood drips from Gohan's mouth as he makes his way back to his feet. _I need to find some way to access my ki._ He internally reasons. _He was able to draw ki from that dark crystal. How did he do that?

_Gohan finally gets back on his feet and finds that his saiyan side is still cackling at his expense. Gohan growls lowly at this sight._ Perhaps I can draw strength from that white crystal. I doubt I would be able to handle ki as dark as the ki from the black one. It's my only chance. _Gohan tries to draw ki from the white crystal in a similar way that his father draws ki from living things when preforming his spirit bomb technique. This however doesn't get the desired effect he is looking for. It doesn't even do anything at all! _

_Saiyan Gohan cackles even harder if possible after seeing Gohan try to draw power and failing. He then figures that he's given his host enough time to try and gather his strength as he becomes impatient. Sure he wants a good fight like any saiyan, but also like any sayian, his patience is short. He charges the original Gohan once more and starts to beat him again. _

_A strong punch to the solar plexus sends Gohan flailing in the air once again. Before he has a chance to hit the ground however, his saiyan said makes it to the spot below him and punches him straight up into the sky. Since Gohan has no access to his ki, he can't control his trajectory at all, so he can only helplessly float upwards until his saiyan side is able to catch up and fly above him, giving him a powerful ax handle which sends the original Gohan flying into the ground. The floor of so hard however that it refuses to give, making the saiyan bounce off of the ground painfully. _

_Saiyan Gohan lands right next to original Gohan's battered and bloodied body, smirking a very saiyan smirk. The roughed up demi-saiyan has multiple cuts and bruises forming all over his body. His clothes are torn in multiple places and have blood stains on them. _

"I expected better from you Gohan,"_ Saiyan Gohan taunts his host. _"I'm losing my patience. I can't kill you, but I can make you suffer until you give. All you have to do is concede and allow yourself to fuse with me and then all of this suffering will end."

_Gohan is currently lying on his back and breathing heavily from exhaustion, his eyes clenched shut in obvious pain. However, he manages to make out one word in between breaths. _"n-ne-never…"

_Saiyan Gohan scowls at his host and kicks him hard in the side, sending him skidding across the space. _"Fine!" _the saiyan side growls. _"If you want to suffer so badly then so be it."

_The saiyan slowly walks over to Gohan, trying to give him time to get back up and hopefully give him a little better fight. He inwardly grins that Gohan didn't give in that easily. He wouldn't be able to have any more fun if he did. What he really wants is a good fight, a fight where he can go all out and actually have a challenge. He knows that this is the only opportunity for that. Everyone else doesn't even come close to his strength. This is the one chance he has for this._

_As Gohan listens to the sound of the saiyan's footsteps draw nearer to him, he starts to think over the situation at hand. _I can't go down now!_ he mentally tells himself. _Everyone is counting on me! I can't lose!

_As Gohan continues to give himself motivation for going on, he suddenly finds himself flooded with memories._

* * *

**~East Mountain Area, Planet Earth, Age 762~**

**Gohan is out of breath after his last attack. Nappa had gone after him in an attempt to put him down for the count when he kicked the saiyan general right in the noggin. The attack was completely unexpected by the big oaf and he went sailing into a mountain because of it. **

**Gohan continues to try and catch his breath as he looks around the area. His father's best friend Krillin, who the demi-saiyan just met, is laying face first on the ground, exhausted from his battle with the giant saiyan. He does however have his head craned up so he can watch the fighting going on. **

**He then sees his sensei for the past year, Piccolo, looking at the scene with an expression of awe. At first Gohan was terrified when he was suddenly awoken by being thrown in a river by the former Demon King, but over the last year, the green skinned warrior (who he just recently found out was from a planet called Namek) had grown on him. Now he considers Piccolo to be his best friend. He doesn't know what he would do if anything happened to him. **

**The problem is that he doesn't know if Piccolo feels the same way about him. Sure, he trained him, but that was only because the demi-saiyan showed potential. And even when he was training, the former Demon King would be relentless, always attacking and never giving him time for rest. Then, when they did get time for rest, the Namekian would just ignore his attempts at conversation. He really doubts that he feels the same way about him. **

**Gohan's thoughts are interrupted when the rubble that was once the mountain that Nappa crashed into explodes upward, and Nappa shoots into the sky, landing twenty feet from the demi-saiyan, with an expression that makes it look like his head is about to pop. His veins are popping out and are all too visible on his bald head, giving the saiyan general a very freaky appearance. One thing's for sure. **

**He's incredibly pissed!**

"**That's it kid!" The saiyan general screams, fury lacing his voice. "You die!" He then starts charging a gigantic ki blast in his right hand. It gets brighter and brighter by the second. Finally after a huge yell, Nappa unleashes the gigantic blast. A huge white stream of ki starts flying towards Gohan, the magnitude if it having the ability to completely obliterate him. **

**Gohan's eyes widen in fear as he witnesses this. He attempts to move, but finds himself petrified by fear. He can only look on in fear and await his doom.**

**Suddenly, the blast is shadowed by a figure that is now standing in front of Gohan. He has his arms stretched out to make sure that he alone takes the brunt of the blast. The next thing that is heard throughout the valley is an ear piercing scream of agony followed by a big explosion that shakes the Earth.**

**As the smoke and dust clears away from the site of the explosion, two figures can be distinguished from the spot. One is a little boy of no more than five years old with wide, watery eyes looking up with a fearful expression at the second figure, a green skinned warrior, his arms spread out and still standing. However, his gi top is nonexistent and his bottoms are barely even there. His body is covered in third degree burns and there is purple blood streaming out of his many open wounds. **

**After a few moments, Piccolo collapses to the ground, unable to bear the pain any longer. He knows that he's going to die, but he promised himself that he would not let the let the little boy he took as his gakusei get hurt. It is for this reason that he sacrificed himself for him. **

**Gohan immediately rushes to the Namekian's side, tears freely flowing out of his eyes now. He can't believe that he did that! He can't believe that Piccolo had sacrificed himself to save him!**

"**M-mr. P-p-p-picc-cc-ccollo…" he manages to stutter out. **

"**Hey kid…" Piccolo huffs out. He could die any minute, but he's trying to hold on for a little longer to say what he should have said a long time ago. "You've come a long way… and so have I… you were my… first real friend… and I wanted to… say that… I'm– I'm proud… of you kid… I know you… can do it… save the Earth…" Finally the Namekian's breathing stops and his body starts to fade into nothingness. **

"**MR. PICCOLO!" Gohan screams at the top of his lungs. **

**That was the day that Gohan finally found out Piccolo's true feelings for him.**

* * *

_~Gohan's Mind, Present Time~_

_Gohan finds himself inside a golden aura and finds that his ki has increased dramatically. Saiyan Gohan is on the floor away from the demi-saiyan, as if he was just knocked over. As Gohan observes the scene more closely, he sees that the golden aura from the white crystal is surrounding him just like the aura from the purple crystal surrounded Saiyan Gohan before, and to his pleasant surprise, his wounds seem to be healing as well. _

_The demi-saiyan is confused. What just happened? One minute he is a bloody mess lying on the floor willing himself to continue and the next thing he knows he is back on the battlefield facing off against Vegeta and Nappa again! Then when the flashback ended, he finds that he was not only able to unleash a portion of ki, but he was able to heal himself as well! He desperately tries to figure out what it was that allowed him to let loose. _

_Was it the fact that Piccolo's death caused him to explode with power at the time? As he ponders the thought, he considers it to be a valid explanation since he was desperate at the time to avenge his sensei. Perhaps it was the desperation that allowed him to draw power from the white crystal. _

_The golden aura eventually fades from around the demi-saiyan and he finds that he is now at his full power in his base form just like his saiyan side, fully healed. He grins as he finds that he can now fight back against his saiyan side. _

_Saiyan Gohan gets up from his little mishap. He was not expecting that! One second, Gohan is laying on the ground in a trance of some sort, and the next thing he knows, a blazing golden aura starts to surround the demi-saiyan, creating a gust of wind and knocking him over. When he is able to look up, he sees that his host has fully recovered from the wounds that he inflicted earlier and that he now has a strong ki signature. _

_On one hand, Saiyan Gohan is angry that his host was able to grab hold of his power. He now has a better chance to take back his mind now. But on the other hand, he now will pose a much greater challenge, and that is exactly what he wants: a challenge. _

_Saiyan Gohan smirks at his counterpart. _"So you've finally done it." _He mockingly praises. _"Took you long enough! Now you may actually pose somewhat of a threat. Shall we begin?"

_Gohan answers by charging his saiyan side. It feels good to be able to use ki again! Although not even relatively close to the amount of ki that he's capable of using, it's still something, and a lot more than he was able to before. Gohan immediately goes on the offensive by giving his saiyan side a punch in the side, which the saiyan blocks. Gohan follows up this by going into a routine that he normally uses against opponents of similar strength._

_Saiyan Gohan immediately notices what his host is trying to do. _That may work on anyone else, but not me!_ He silently says. He starts to lure Gohan into one of his traps by making him think that he is off balance. As he continues to fake imbalance, he starts to go through with his plan. Finally, he finds his opening. As Gohan goes for his head, Saiyan Gohan allows him to get the hit in, making the former think that he got a good hit in. However, Saiyan Gohan lets his momentum spin him completely around and land a devastating roundhouse kick… which is caught?_

_Gohan grins as he catches Saiyan Gohan's foot. He's not the only one who knows the other's strategies inside and out! The demi-saiyan felt as if his assault was landing way too easily for someone equal in strength. He figured that since his saiyan side is basically him, he recognized his initial assault, and instead of showing his hand, he wanted to get a good trick in; since this was the case, Gohan was prepared for a counter as soon as Sayian Gohan let him get a good shot in. Gohan now winds up a roundhouse kick of his own and kicks his saiyan side across the white space. _

_As Saiyan Gohan skids across the floor, he narrows his eyes in anger. He was counting on that counter to work! He gambled on catching Gohan off guard after his assault was over, and because of that, he took many unnecessary blows in the exchange and lost a lot of ki from it. Now he finds himself at a ki disadvantage with some wounds to add to it as well. _

_He growls at the eleven year old standing across from him. _I need a way to draw more power from the crystal, _he silently reasons. _What should I use? Should I use my secret weapon? No, it's way too early! I need to save that one for later since it's guaranteed to work. Hmm what to use… Aha! I've got it!

_Saiyan Gohan gets back to his feet and smirks at his host. _"That was impressive Gohan," _he once again praises mockingly. _"At least for a coward such as yourself."

_Gohan actually laughs at Saiyan Gohan's comment. _"Oh wow, that's a good one!" _Gohan says between laughs. _"Is that what you call me now? Wow, good luck backing that claim up!"

_Saiyan Gohan just continues to smirk as Gohan laughs. As soon as the laughter dies down, Saiyan Gohan speaks again. _"Well that's what you call someone who stands idly by while his sensei sacrifices himself for him. A true warrior wouldn't have been so paralyzed by fear that he couldn't move, but that's exactly what a coward would do. Sound familiar?"

_Gohan is taken off guard by that, mostly since he just witnessed that memory all over again not ten minutes ago! Normally, a comment like that wouldn't affect the demi-saiyan so greatly, especially lately with his father explaining why he sacrificed himself for him. However, that memory is still so fresh in Gohan's mind; the fear radiating through his being from seeing Nappa charge his attack; how he couldn't even move out of the way; how Piccolo had so boldly taken the blow for him; the smell of his sensei's burning flesh as he knelt by his dying form; all of this he could have prevented if he had been more brave, not so much like… a coward. _

_Once again, as soon as Gohan starts thoughts of self-loathing, the golden aura of the purple crystal starts to encompass Saiyan Gohan, who is now grinning evilly. He bursts into golden flames and his ki skyrockets once again. As soon as the golden aura dissipates, all of Saiyan Gohan's wounds are healed and he is now revealed to have golden, spiky hair and hard teal eyes. _

_Saiyan Gohan is now a super saiyan. _

_Gohan can only gape at the saiyan side of himself. He did it again! How did he do that? Now Saiyan Gohan's ki is at the level of that of his super saiyan powers at the Cell Games. _

_Gohan gulps. This is not good! The saiyan side now has a massive advantage once again. Gohan quickly tries to figure out ways to beat this guy. _I could try to destroy that dark crystal. _he silently muses. However he quickly shakes off this thought. _The crystal is too powerful at the moment. Besides, I don't know what affects that it will have on my mind if I do.

_The demi-saiyan is brought out of these thoughts as an assault from Saiyan Gohan starts. He tries his best to defend himself, but the saiyan side is just too powerful to block and too quick to outmaneuver. This is a first for the demi-saiyan as he usually is quick enough to evade attacks that would normally be way out of his league power wise, but since he is fighting a person with the exact same skillset as himself, it is impossible since his opponent is at a much higher ki level._

_Gohan soon finds himself once again face down on the floor of the empty space that is his mind. He is once again bloodied and beat up from Saiyan Gohan's latest assault. He raises his head only for it to be driven roughly into the ground by Saiyan Gohan's foot. _

"Haha!" _the saiyan cackles evilly. _"You are too weak to beat me! You will allow me to control your mind, or you will continue to suffer as you have."

_Inwardly, the saiyan side once again hopes that Gohan can find more power. The ki increase that he received has only increased his desire for a good battle. Sure, it would be more risky than the situation he's in now, but he feels that he will still come out on top and beat the challenge. After all, that's what he lives for. _

_Saiyan Gohan definitely shows the pride of a saiyan. _

_Little does he know that what he just said triggered another memory inside of Gohan._

* * *

**~The Hyperbolic Time Chamber, Kami's Lookout, Planet Earth, Age 767~**

**Gohan is facing off against his father in an intense spar. Goku and Gohan have spent a good three months in here already training for the upcoming battle with Cell. They know that he already absorbed Android Seventeen and that Cell is already much stronger than he was previously. They both hope that Vegeta and Mirai Trunks can defeat the biological android, but Goku feels like they should prepare for the worst. **

**Gohan is trying with all of his being to become a super saiyan, but nothing seems to be working, much to the frustration of the demi-saiyan. He does however have a feeling as to why it's not working. His father said that it comes in response to a need, not a desire. He's tried using memories from places like the battle against the saiyans and the battle against Frieza on Planet Namek, but that just wasn't enough. Just standing around and focusing on the memories gives him the right trigger, but he doesn't have the ki expenditure to pull off the transformation. **

**Gohan has heard all of his life that he has an explosive power inside of him that only comes out in times of high emotions. The problem is that he loses control when this happens. If he could somehow find a way where the need to use the power comes about, but not high enough where he loses control, that would be perfect! Of course, he has no clue if this is actually possible. **

**Still, it's not helping that his father is treating him like a little kid! Every time he falls over from a particularly nasty blow from his father, Goku is always quick to be at his side and ask if he's alright. Then, he always cuts off training early to allow Gohan to rest, making the excuse they have a whole year in the place. Even though it would have annoyed him, he would have accepted the excuse if his father didn't go back out to train when he thought his son was resting. **

**Sure, Gohan's only ten years old, but he's also very mature for his age! He's been through more in his short life than most people have in their lifetimes! Plus, he's half saiyan! If anyone can take more intense training it's him.**

**Finally, after he takes a tough blow to the side, Gohan falls on his back. "Okay Gohan," Goku says to his son, a grin on his face as he extends his hand down towards his floored son. "That should be good for training today. We need to rest up so he can hit it off strong again tomorrow." **

**Gohan is fed up with his father! Screw resting! He needs to be a super saiyan in order to protect those he loves! **

**He slaps his father's hand away and pulls himself up to his feet. "Dad, I'm fine!" he tells his father, annoyance very clear in his voice. "I need to become a super saiyan!" **

**Goku isn't surprised by his son's behavior. He's been acting like this for the past two weeks now, telling him that he's fine when he's really exhausted. However usually when this happens, he just continues his training for a few more minutes until his son realizes how tired he actually is and then complies. **

"**Alright Gohan, We'll train a little more, but not too much longer," Goku replies, getting in a fighting stance. "I don't want you to overexert yourself. That would be counterproductive." **

**Goku lightly charges his son and throws a lighter punch, thinking that he's low on gas, but Gohan surprisingly blocks the blow handily and counters with a quick jab to Goku's side, sending him staggering to the side. **

**Apparently Gohan has a lot more energy than he thought. **

**Gohan now charges his father and puts the adult saiyan on the defensive. Goku has a difficult time parrying his son's blows, yet he doesn't want to raise his ki too much and risk hurting him. **

**Gohan finally manages to floor his father after he finishes his assault. He's panting, yet he still has a lot more energy that he can use for training. He becomes very frustrated at his father. He could have easily defended against that assault! If he tried! Why is his father holding back? That won't get him anywhere in his quest to become a super saiyan!**

"**Dad!" Gohan yells at his dad as he gets back to his feet. "Why aren't you trying?! I know you could have easily defended against that and made a good counterstrike!" Goku stares at his son now wide eyed at his sudden outburst. This is new. "You have to come at me with everything you've got! Only if you give me a big enough challenge will I be able to find a need to transform yet have the ki to actually complete the transformation as well!" **

**Goku feels like he was slapped in the face. He realizes that his son is right; he's holding him back by not making Gohan work his hardest for it. His gaze hardens, making his son flinch. Gone is the tender gentleness that his father usually carries. Gohan knows that his words sunk in to his father's brain, and he knows that his father no longer sees him as his son, but only his opponent. **

**With a yell, Goku summons a golden aura around himself. His hair spikes up and its color flickers from black to gold as his eyes flicker from onyx to teal. Winds start swirling around the saiyan that force the chibi demi-saiyan to shield his eyes with his arm. Finally, there's an explosion of light and the shockwave that follows knocks the demi-saiyan backwards. As soon as the light dissipates and the aura around Goku steadies, the saiyan now appears with glowing golden hair and eyes that are a hardened teal.**

"**Now that's more like it! " Gohan shouts. "It's now or never dad! Let's find out if I really am a super saiyan!"**

**Goku merely gives his son an intense gaze. He knows that his son will be able to handle whatever he can throw at him. How he didn't figure this out sooner he doesn't know, but now he knows that this is the only way that his son will transform. The sayian drops into the signature turtle stance as he prepares the signature turtle attack. **

"**Ka… me… ha… me…" Goku starts chanting, gathering more ki with each chant. He is somewhat hesitant at first as he worries about his son's well-being, but as soon as he looks at the determined look on his face, he knows that such hesitation is really unnecessary. **

"**Ha!" Goku shouts the last syllable of the famous attack and thrusts his cupped hands forward towards his son. A giant wave of blue ki blasts out from his hands and barrels its way straight at his son. Gohan makes an effort to deflect it, but keeps getting pushed back by the monster beam. **

**He then thinks back on how many people are depending on him becoming stronger. He thinks back to the times when he could have made a difference if only he were stronger; against the saiyans, against Frieza, against the androids. He could have made a difference in all of those battles had he only been stronger. Well no more! **

**Gohan puts everything he has into deflecting the Kamehameha. He then feels a rush of ki come to him and suddenly, he is able to deflect the attack no problem! He pushes the ki wave back at his father, who quickly dodges it and watches it explode in the distance. When he looks down at his son, he can't help but grin at the sight.**

**Gohan is surrounded by a golden aura that is flaring uncontrollably, and now has glowing golden hair and teal eyes. The biggest difference though is his ki. Goku knows that his son just transformed into a super saiyan so his ki should skyrocket naturally, but Gohan's ki is enormous! Much higher than his was when he transformed on Namek! **

**Gohan is only able to maintain his transformation for another thirty seconds before he collapses from pure exhaustion. He is now on his hands and knees panting heavily; however, when he sees his father walk up to him, he can't help the grin that comes to his face. **

"**I... told… you… I could… do it…" Gohan manages to huff out between breaths. **

**Goku smiles warmly at his son, dropping his transformation. "You sure did son," he says, his eyes gleaming with pride. "I'm really proud of you Gohan, and I promise to never doubt your abilities ever again."**

**That was the day that his father announced his unwavering faith in him.**

* * *

_~Gohan's Mind, Present Time~_

_Gohan once again finds Saiyan Gohan on his backside as if he were blasted off of him. The demi-saiyan then stands up as if he were never injured in the first place and notices that once again his wounds have healed. He looks around and sees that he is surrounded by the white crystal's golden aura once again, and by the feel of his body, he can tell that he is now a super saiyan as well. _

_His ki is now once again on par with that of Saiyan Gohan, and Gohan has to admit, it feels _good_! He forgot the feeling of being a super saiyan felt so… empowering! He likes the new sense of power flowing through him and now smirks at the glaring Saiyan Gohan. _

_Apparently Gohan is more saiyan than we originally thought. _

_Saiyan Gohan is stunned at how much power Gohan was able to gain from his latest siphoning. _He seems to be able to match me every time! _he silently seethes. However, Saiyan Gohan is now smirking at his opponent. Now he will get a real challenge! _

_The golden aura from the white crystal eventually dissipates and now Gohan is completely healed. He then makes a very uncharacteristic move for him and taunts his opponent into attacking him by gesturing him to come at him with his hand. _

_Saiyan Gohan wastes no time in complying. He charges Gohan with a punch that he intends to send right at his smirking face. This of course is blocked by his opponent as he expected. He then goes for a knee to the gut, but that is parried by Gohan lowering his right arm to block it. Saiyan Gohan smirks at this. Apparently he doesn't have any trouble following him, making this battle all the more exciting. _

_The two Gohans clash violently, now going all out. The match is dead even, no side appears to have an advantage. There is even a point in the battle where each person mirrors each other; punches connect with punches, kicks with kicks, shin with shins, forearms with forearms. Of course this isn't that surprising considering that they both are basically the same person._

_Eventually, Saiyan Gohan gets in a good blow and sends Gohan to the ground. He tries to take advantage of this by gathering ki for a Kamehameha wave. _

"Ka… me… ha… me…"_ Saiyan Gohan chants, gathering ki in his cupped palms. _

_Once again, Gohan can't help the feeling of déjà vu. This is basically the exact same situation that he went through in is memory! He is on the ground recovering while his opponent charges up a giant Kamehameha wave. Gohan seriously wonders if his saiyan side has something to do with these memories that he keeps reliving. _

"Ha!" _Saiyan Gohan shouts, and pours the majority of his ki into the attack. A huge wave of blue ki blasts out from his hands as he thrusts them forward towards his opponent. Gohan, upon seeing how much power is behind the wave, knows that he needs to deflect it, otherwise, it will knock him out cold. _

_Gohan is thankful that his saiyan side chose the Kamehameha as the attack. It may have more overall sheer power, but the driving force isn't that strong, making it much easier to deflect than an attack such as the masenko or special beam cannon. However, he still needs to put a lot of effort into blocking the attack and at first struggles mightily at deflecting it. _

_Then, Gohan is able to finally stop the momentum of the beam, now making it a power struggle between both parties. Gohan eventually begins to push the beam back, much to the shock of Saiyan Gohan. The latter tries to put more ki into the beam, but before he can, he finds the beam heading back straight at him. Eyes wide in horror, he barely manages to dodge the attack, making it sail past him and explode in the background. _

_Saiyan Gohan is now exhausted. He put a lot of ki into that attack. Luckily for him, he is able to maintain his super saiyan transformation, but he now is at the mercy of his opponent once again. _

How could I let this happen again?!_ He silently berates himself. _ Now I really need more power. I know he won't bite on the sacrificing thing anymore. Should I use it this time? … no! I've got a better idea!

_Gohan smirks at the sight of his saiyan side. He looks like he just ran a marathon. _

"Aren't you going to torture me?" _Saiyan Gohan suddenly says in a weak soft voice from out of nowhere._

_This takes Gohan completely off guard. _"W-what?" _he asks, genuinely confused. _

"You know what I mean," _Saiyan Gohan responds._ "Aren't you going to torture me like you did Cell?" _He knows that his host will respond defensively to this accusation, and that's exactly what he wants! He knows that once this happens, his counterpart will be fully drawn into the topic and that is when he will strike with his wild card. _

_As Saiyan Gohan predicted, Gohan puts on an astonished expression and looks to retort. _"You were the one that tortured Cell!" _Gohan shouts indignantly. _"I tried to stop you! You said that he _deserved_ it remember?"

"But what about Bojack?"_ Saiyan Gohan counters, smirking internally. He knows he has him now. _"As I recall, you _ordered_ me to 'make him suffer for all its worth.'"

_Gohan flinches at the memory of his father sacrificing himself so he could live. He then remembers the fury that it sent him in and remembers that he indeed did tell his saiyan side to torture Bojack. He remembers actually enjoying seeing the monster in pain as well._

Is he right?_ Gohan mentally pleads. _Am I a torturer?

_Feelings of self-loathing once again fill the demi-saiyan's mind, giving Saiyan Gohan power to feed off of again. He cackles evilly as the golden aura of the dark crystal engulfs him and gives rise to more power for him. His ki is completely replenished and starts skyrocketing once again as his wounds from the previous battle start to heal once more. _

_Gohan blinks out of his thoughts as he feels the ki of his opponent rise dramatically. He silently curses for not figuring it out sooner! The saiyan side is using his thoughts of self-loathing to feed off of for his power! Like King Kai said, it knows exactly what to say to make Gohan cave. Saiyan Gohan brought about just enough thoughts of self-loathing to be able to use it as fuel. _

_Now Saiyan Gohan is cackling madly. As the golden aura dissipates, his ki plateaus at the absolute max for a stage one super saiyan. His ki advantage is gigantic! _

"I know what you're doing now!" _Gohan shouts at his saiyan side, causing him to finally stop cackling. _"You're using my feelings against me! You know what aspects of my life that I regret and are using them as fuel! Well know that I will not fall for it anymore!"

_Saiyan Gohan smirks at his adversary._ "Wow, it took you long enough to figure that out." _He sneers._ "I thought you were supposed to be smart, but I guess you only know things that are written in a book. I possess all of your natural instinct and intuition. As for the 'never falling for it again' crap, I don't buy it for a second. You will cave again when I want you to, but that won't be necessary anymore. Can't you feel the ki difference between us now? You have no chance!"

_As soon as Saiyan Gohan finishes his monologue, he charges Gohan at unimaginable speeds. It's a repeat of his match against Pan in the semifinals of the Intergalactic Tournament. Saiyan Gohan gives his host a quick but powerful punch to the side, staggering Gohan to the side. Saiyan Gohan then gives him a devastating roundhouse kick to his other side while he's off balance, the kick sending a loud crack throughout the space and sending Gohan flying in the opposite direction. _

_Gohan hits the ground rolling and continues bouncing and rolling for another good hundred feet before he finally comes to a stop. That one hurt a lot! Gohan clutches the side that he was last kicked in in obvious pain. He wouldn't be surprised if he broke a few ribs and permanently damaged a few internal organs with that last kick. As he writhes in pain, Saiyan Gohan makes his way over to his host._

"You have no chance now," _he says, no playfulness in his voice. For once, his saiyan side is dead serious on something. _"Like I said earlier, you cannot die in here. For one you are already dead, but two, it is impossible to die in your own mind. However, the pain you feel will not go away. I tell you this in order to save you Gohan. Merge with me and you will no longer have to suffer."

_Gohan seriously goes over what Saiyan Gohan said in his head. The pain that he is in right now isn't as bad as he's had in the past, but Saiyan Gohan probably won't hesitate to change that if he doesn't comply. It is a very difficult decision for the demi-saiyan. On one hand if he gives in, then his suffering will end and he will finally be free of this eternal pain. However, at what price will it come? He knows that the saiyan side of him is ruthless when it comes to those he doesn't like or to those that he feels 'deserve to suffer,' including his own father and possibly even Goten in the future! _

_As he continues to ponder his decision, another memory comes to him._

* * *

**~Mount Paoz, 439 Mountain Area, Planet Earth, Age 768**

**Gohan is tired! **

**He had sent his children (he still can't believe that they're actually **_**his**_** children) to bed a little over an hour ago. He just spent the entire day with his Pan and Goken going around the area. **

**First he took them to the private lake that only he and his father know about. There he had a blast swimming and playing games with his children for hours. After that, Goku joined them and they had an intense training session. He wanted to see how fast Pan and Goken progress after a few days of training. He first had them spar with each other, not allowing Pan to go super saiyan since Goken can't freely do it as of yet. Then he had one of them spar against him to test their limits against a strong defense, and the other against Gohan to test their speed and ability to think on their feet, switching after a half hour. Gohan can remember just how impressed he was with both of his children when they fought him. Apparently Trunks did a really good job training them. **

**After their training session, it was about time for dinner. The Son quartet consisting of two from the future and the father son duo from the present had rushed home upon hearing Chichi's shouts saying that the meal was ready to be devoured. Of course everyone happily obliged, Gohan and Goku eating as much as thirty normal adult humans and Pan and Goken eating as much as ten. Pan and Goken aren't used to having so much food since it is much more scarce in their timeline, so they enjoyed every bite, claiming that it was the 'best food they've ever eaten.' Of course that was their first Chichi prepared meal since she was in the Medical Ward for the last two days recovering from her birth, but she was so delighted when they said that that she gave them extra sweets for dessert. **

**After dinner, Gohan spent the evening continuing his story of his past. He continued his tale from the point where his father just launched the spirit bomb at Frieza, only for the tyrant to survive. He went into great detail explaining how Frieza tried to kill his father, only for Piccolo to take the hit for him instead; about how the sadistic bastard killed Krillin with his psychic powers; about how that gave his father the trigger and power to transform in to a super saiyan. He also told them about how Frieza tried to blow up the planet, only destroying its core. He ends his story at the time of Namek's destruction, and how his father miraculously escaped the explosion. **

**After all of that, the two chibis from the future were so tired that Gohan had to drag them both up to the room that is supposed to be Goten's when he gets older. The infant demi-saiyan is sleeping in the same room as his parents for the time being, allowing Pan and Goken to share the vacant room. They fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow. **

**A long day indeed, but a fun one nonetheless. **

**Gohan is currently studying, and no, it's **_**not**_** for his mother (she put his studies on hiatus until Pan and Goken go back to the future with Mirai Trunks). He is actually looking for a cause to a reoccurring problem with his daughter in one of his psychology books.**

**For the last two nights, Pan has been having nightmares. The first time it happened was at Capsule Corps. the night that she arrived from the future. Growing up in the world that she lived in, it didn't come to a surprise. Naturally a few nightmares will come about with everything she and her brother have been through with the androids.**

**Pan had told him that the nightmare was about when she found his Mirai counterpart's dead body lying in the street face down in a huge rain storm. It was an incredibly traumatizing event for the poor chibi. She believed that the nightmare was just an after effect from having to relive the event when telling him about it. Gohan agreed that that was the probable cause and quickly apologized again for having her tell him about the event. She had told him that he need not apologize but asked if she could spend the night with him for comfort. He gladly obliged and she slept peacefully the rest of the night. **

**The second night it happened again, and once again, it was the same nightmare. This concerned the demi-saiyan since reoccurring nightmares were something he had to deal with ever since he was four year's old after he got kidnapped by his insane 'Uncle' Radiz. He did not want her to have to go through the same thing. That night, he comforted her and let her stay with him again, vowing to do some research on the predicament the next day.**

**As for tonight, so far so good; no nightmares have occurred for his daughter. Nonetheless, Gohan continues on in his search on what could be the cause of the nightmares. Gohan is currently looking at an article in his book that could actually be a good explanation of what's going on. **

**The article is about theories on dreams and what they mean as well as their cause. It goes into details about how there are many theories of why we have dreams and what they mean, ranging from suppressed sexual desires to just random thoughts triggered by stimulating certain regions in the brain called "pons." The explanation that makes the most sense to Gohan though, and one that could very well be an explanation for Pan's nightmares, is the theory on how dreams are an expression of the unconscious mind. **

**The demi saiyan looks further into this theory and finds that these unconscious thoughts could be repressed memories that have been permanently stored in the unconscious mind. It also explains that usually the memories that are replayed in dreams are usually very memorable or important events that have happened in that person's lifetime. The article goes on to say that the subject may not even have conscious memories of the events in dreams if they were too young to remember them when they happened. **

**Gohan internally cheers for joy. This fits Pan's situation perfectly! Pan had told him that she had no conscious memory of the event and that she only knew about it from Trunks, but according to the article, she doesn't even need one in order to have dreams about it, and it certainly fits the bill of being a memorable or important memory. **

**Gohan also knows a way that he believes will cure his daughter of this nightmare for good. When he would have reoccurring nightmares when he came back from Planet Namek, Piccolo had taught him a technique that helped him rid of the nightmares. Being a master with the mind, Piccolo knew that nightmares in particular are associated with negative ki. In order to rid of the nightmare for good, you need to somehow dissipate the negative ki that comes with it, and replace it with positive ki from another source. Piccolo had done this for him a few times, and every time, it worked to perfection. **

**Gohan had been hesitant to use this technique with his daughter though since he had no idea what exactly he had to target for the negative ki. However with this new theory on dreams, he now knows what to target. The negative ki, according to his theory, will be in the unconscious part of the brain. In theory, when he performs this technique on his daughter, the positive ki will take over her unconscious thoughts, thus giving her much more pleasant unconscious thoughts to dream about. **

"**NOOO! DADDY!" **

**Gohan lets out a sigh as he hears Pan's shouts. Unfortunately she seems to be having another nightmare, and from the sound of it, the same one again. He heads out from his room and for Goten's in order to put his theory to the test. Gohan has no clue if this will work for sure of not, but he now has a lead, and that's good enough to try if it will help his daughter get through the night without any problems. **

**As soon as he enters the room, he sees the distress that Pan is in. She is flailing around, sweating and crying in her sleep. Goken is trying to desperately wake her up, but he isn't having any luck. The poor kid looks just as terrified as his sister. As soon as he sees that his father is in the room however, he immediately darts towards him and clings to him, trembling.**

"**Daddy!" he cries, tears spilling out of his eyes. "Pan's having another nightmare! I can't get her up! Help her please daddy! Help her!"**

**Gohan quickly tells the boy that he will do just that and ruffles his hair before going over to his daughter's bedside. He frowns at the sight. This is by far the worst it's been. He doesn't know how much worse it will get if his theory doesn't work. **

**Gohan grabs Pan's hand, and sends some of his ki to calm her down. That seems to do wonders for the eleven year old girl as she stops thrashing about at the contact. Her eyes then shoot open at once and she turns her head towards her father. Terror is the only emotion in her eyes as Gohan looks into them. **

**Pan jumps out of her bed and latches onto her father, crying into his shoulder. He soothes Pan by rubbing circles in her back until she eventually calms down.**

"**Daddy, I was so scared!" Pan cries. Although she is not crying anymore, the poor girl is still shaking from the memory. "It happened again! I had to see you dead again!" **

"**Shh, It's okay," Gohan soothes as he continues to rub circles in her back. "I think I've found a way to stop these nightmares for good Pan."**

**The chibi from the future immediately looks up at her father, her wide eyes full of hope. "Really daddy?!" **

**Gohan smiles tenderly at his daughter. "Yes, but it's not going to be easy at first." He states honestly. "I'm going to target the negative ki that is causing your nightmare and replace it with positive ki of my own. I recently found the main source of this negative ki so I can now target it directly. However," Gohan speaks in a more serious tone, showing that what he's about to say is important. "I need to be able to get a good lock on that negative ki, and in order to do that, you are going to have to relive that nightmare by thinking about it as if it were happening right now. Once you do that, I want you to bring out your ki like Trunks taught you. Since I will have a lock on the negative ki, I will be able to direct that specific ki to be the ki that is brought out when you do this." **

"**Once you have the ball of negative ki in your hands," Gohan continues. "I will take it and dissipate it while giving you some of my own positive ki. This will get rid of the source of the nightmare, therefore ridding you of the nightmare permanently."**

**It takes a few minutes for Pan to finally agree to try this, and she does just what Gohan told her to do. When the negative ki forms in her hand, Gohan replaces it with his own ki and dissipates the negative one. The effects are almost immediate. Pan stops trembling, and by the feel of her ki, Gohan can tell that she isn't utterly terrified anymore. **

**After finally coming to terms with what just happened, Pan hugs her father once again. "Thank you daddy!" She cries, sincere gratitude clear in her voice. "I feel better already! I love you so much!" **

**While Gohan know that she loves him, the sheer sincerity in her voice when she told him she loved him is overwhelming. He never thought that after only three days that she could love him this deeply. "I love you too Panny." Gohan replies, his insides higher than they've ever been. "I'm glad you feel better. Now get some rest, I'll see you in the morning. That goes for you too Goken," he adds, seeing that his son has been watching the whole thing and is still up out of bed. **

**They both nod in agreement and climb back in their respective cots. He then tucks them in and gives them a goodnight kiss. He watches Pan sleep for a few minutes to make sure that she doesn't have any more nightmares and is satisfied when he sees a content smile on her face. **

**Gohan finally makes his way to the door, intending to get some good sleep of his own when he is suddenly called back in by Goken. The chibi father heads back to the little boy's bedside and sees what he needs. **

"**I just wanted to say thank you for helping Pan," Goken softly says, not wanting to wake his sister. "She means everything to me and I hated seeing her so scared. I wanted you to know that I love you too for doing that, because her happiness is everything." Again, the sincerity in his tone when he says this is overwhelming.**

**Gohan was shocked by what his son just stated. This is actually the first time that he truly saw just how close the two were. If it's anything like what he and Goten are, then he knows how the little boy feels, and again, he can tell just how deep that love for him runs.**

**That was the night that he found out just how much his children from the future truly love him.**

* * *

_~Gohan's Mind, Present Time~_

_Gohan is once again standing, his pain is fading fast. Once again, it seems like the flashback has triggered his ability to use the white crystal. It's golden aura is surrounding the demi-saiyan and healing him, along with making him more powerful. He notices that unlike the last two times this happened, Saiyan Gohan is still standing, although a scowl is apparent on his face. That makes Gohan smile as that is a sign that he now feels more threatened. _

_As the pain in his side continues to die down, Gohan once again ponders what happens when he has these flashbacks. The first time, the saiyan side tried to use it to his advantage by getting Gohan to feel guilty for his sensei's death. The second time however, it served to backfire on him as the memory helped him be able to fend off the Kamehameha wave that he sent._

_What Gohan wants to know is how will this memory affect his upcoming rematch with his saiyan side? How do Pan and Goken fit in with this? This then leads Gohan to ponder why he's even having these flashbacks in the first place, and what the meaning behind them is. Obviously they somehow allow him to access his power from the white crystal, but he can't figure out the common denominator between them. _

_The first two memories allowed him to use desperation as a source, but this newest flashback throws him for a loop. He knows that the dark crystal functions off of his own self-loathing and allows his saiyan side to draw power from that. What the demi-saiyan wants to know then is what is it that triggers the white crystal to function._

_The golden aura finally dissipates after a longer time this time, probably due to the injuries that he suffered. He finds that like all of the other times, his ki is on par with that of his saiyan side as well, this time being at the maximum ki level for a super saiyan. _

_Saiyan Gohan wastes no time initiating the battle this time. The saiyan is inwardly excited at the challenge once again. He may have lost at the two lower power struggles, but he will not lose here!_

_Saiyan Gohan starts this battle with a change-up. He charges towards Gohan and draws out a fist in order to send a punch to start the exchange. Gohan lowers into a stance in order to block the punch, but finds that his saiyan side left an afterimage! Gohan searches around for a second wondering where his saiyan side went until he realizes where he's seen this before. Gohan immediately looks upwards and extends his fist upward just in time to catch his saiyan side in the gut with his extended fist. Saiyan Gohan coughs up blood upon the impact and Gohan merely tosses him to the side. _

"Ha" _Gohan taunts his saiyan side as he watches him get up from his failed assault. _"You don't think I wouldn't recognize my own son's strategy? He did that exact same thing when he fought Mr. Piccolo!"

_Saiyan Gohan is inwardly seething. How did he not realize that he had seen that before? Obviously Gohan had if he had. The saiyan tries to think up a new strategy of attack that he knows the demi-saiyan has never seen before. _

_However, Gohan doesn't give his saiyan side that chance. He immediately charges him as soon as he sees that he's not completely paying attention. Saiyan Gohan, being caught off guard by the sudden move from Gohan, can only defend the blows to the best to his ability. Gohan manages to get a solid punch to the jaw of his saiyan side, sending him stumbling backwards. Gohan quickly takes advantage of this by giving the saiyan side a powerful kick right to the spine. Although this doesn't do any serious damage to his saiyan side, it does send him sprawling and bouncing across the floor, and it is obvious that the blow hurt. _

_Saiyan Gohan finds himself laying on his throbbing back in pain. It's obvious that his thoughtless way of starting the battle has crippled him. He knows that if things continue to go this way that he stands no chance. That's when he decides to pull out his trump card to get a little bit more self-loathing out of his host. He just needs to power up one more time to reach his full potential. _

"Gohan…" _Saiyan Gohan chokes out. He winces as he realizes that that last blow was much more crippling than he thought. _"You want to know a little secret about your father?"

_Gohan however scoffs at his saiyan side. _"Ha!" _He retorts. _"I know what you're trying to do! You're trying to make me cave again aren't you? Well I tell you now that it will _not _work."

"No…"_ Saiyan Gohan answers back. _"I'm not trying to trick you this time, I swear it!"

"Yeah right, like you would be honest with me at all."

"I'm serious!" _the saiyan replies with desperation that he's never shown before. This makes Gohan walk over to him and look him straight in the eye. _

"I don't think I can trust you…"_ Gohan replies back, although his resolve to block out everything his saiyan side says is fading as he notices that there isn't a trace of a lie in his opponent's expression. _

"I tell you what," _Saiyan Gohan replies._ "If you find any trace of a lie in my expression as I say this, I will agree to fuse with you."

_Gohan is shocked to say the least. He knows how much sovereignty means to his saiyan side. If he is willing to put that on the line for this, then it must be important, but most importantly, true. He is however hesitant on if he wants to hear this. He knows how cunning his saiyan side can be. Heck! He's been tricking him throughout this whole process. Still though, he can't help the genuine way he said that he's not trying to trick him this time._

_After much hesitation, Gohan decides to hear him out. _"Alright we have a deal." _Gohan says firmly. _"I'll hear you out, but if there is even a trace of a fib in your expression you have to fuse with me."

_Saiyan Gohan smiles at Gohan, inwardly cheering that he got him to listen to him. He knows that his information is true as he saw pretty clear evidence back in Other World. He is taking a risk by having his host form his own opinion on the matter, but if everything goes according to plan, this piece of inside info could give him enough self-loathing for him to reach his maximum potential. _

"Okay, what I'm about to say is the complete truth,"_ The saiyan starts. _"Your father is planning on staying dead and living in Other World."

_Gohan's eyes widen at this statement. He scrutinizes his saiyan side's expression thoroughly and unfortunately cannot find a trace of falsity in his expression. He immediately calls him into question. _"H-how do you know that?"

_Saiyan Gohan internally smirks at Gohan's reaction. He can see him slipping. He can tell that thoughts on why he would stay in Other World are going through the demi-saiyan's mind. He just needs him to make the self-directed opinion. Finally, he answers his host. _"I've seen some pretty solid evidence in the way both he and King Kai react when you mention getting wished back with him. They both get nervous and your father flinches at the mere idea. They've obviously talked about it while you were torturing Bojack."

_Once again, Gohan carefully scrutinizes his saiyan side's expression to see if there's even a tiny bit of evidence that he's lying, and once again, he can't find any. His former composure is wavering with this new news as he thinks about why his father would make this decision. _

_Hoping for anything that contradicts this new development, Gohan once again denies it. _"He told me that he was nervous because of mom's reaction…"

_Saiyan Gohan cackles at that statement. _"Your mother may be scary, but I don't think that she's _that_ scary. Trust me, I know since I've been living inside of you. Honestly Gohan, I thought you would have figured it out on your own by now."

_Gohan knows that his saiyan side is telling the truth. He just can't imagine why his dad would decide not to come back! Now that he thinks about it, his saiyan side did say that it was obvious that he discussed it with King Kai during his battle with Bojack. He can't imagine that that would be the reason…_

_Can it?_

_Gohan tries to reason this though in his mind. It's obvious that if his father did discuss this with King Kai, which from what he remembers seeing in Other World, he did, that it would have to be around the time he was torturing Bojack since he was talking to _him_ from after he finished the green alien off until he actually died. What if his dad saw him torturing Bojack and decided that he didn't want to come home to a son that goes against everything he stands for?_

No!_ he internally denies. _Dad loves me! He told me to never doubt that!

_But…_

_There's really no other explanation for why he would choose to stay dead. He is loved by everyone back on Earth (besides Hercule, but he's the exception). He has so many friends and a family that adores him. Sure there are threats to the Earth, but that's just another reason to come back since he will always be needed. The only possible explanation the demi-saiyan can come up with is the fact that he doesn't want to come back to _him _since he tortured Bojack willingly._

"No…" _Gohan whispers weakly. _"I-I'm the reason…" _he collapses to his knees, eyes filled with tears at his newest revelation. His thoughts of self-loathing go to an all-time high as he realizes that he's both the reason his father died and the reason he doesn't want to come back. _

_Sayian Gohan grins evilly when the golden aura from the purple crystal flares up around him once again. That worked to perfection! Not only did that serve to power him up, but now Gohan is probably more willing than ever to comply! _

_Of course first he's going to get everything out of his host before he makes him. _

_The golden aura around Gohan's saiyan side intensifies and he is once again enveloped in deep golden flames. Bolts of lightning start to form in the aura as his ki continues to skyrocket to its highest potential. Finally, the aura dissipates, and Saiyan Gohan is revealed. His hair is now standing straight up except for one stubborn golden bang that hangs down over his forehead; lightning bolts now constantly surround him; his bulked up muscles have given him an extra two inches in height; most importantly though, his ki signal is out of this world. _

_Saiyan Gohan has ascended to super saiyan 2. _

_And he now is _extremely _powerful._

_Gohan gapes at his opponents smirking face, a few tears streaking down his face. The ki difference between the two of them now is so big that it's almost comical. He knows that if they were to fight now, he would have no chance. _

_Besides, he doesn't even know if he wants to go back to a world where his father resents him. _

"Since I want to get as much out of this as I can before I make you merge, I'll give you five minutes to try and gather ki from your crystal." _Saiyan Gohan shouts. He is so confident that he will win that he is giving his opponent a chance to get stronger. His lust for a good battle increased to a whole new height when he transformed again. He _will_ get his battle, or he will go insane! _

_Typical saiyan._

_Gohan on the other hand doesn't even know if he wants to go on. His father's approval means the world to him. He wants nothing more than for him to be proud of him, yet the demi-saiyan made him so ashamed of him that he didn't even want to return to his family and friends back home. _

_Gohan is about to tell his saiyan side that he just wants to merge and get it over with when one final memory makes its way into his head._

* * *

**~Capsule Corporation Medical Ward, West City, Planet Earth, Age 768~**

**Gohan can't believe it! Not only was his little brother born yesterday, but his kids from the future also arrived with Mirai Trunks! They finally got to meet the father they never knew and he got to meet his kids that he never knew even existed. **

**At first, Gohan had to admit that he was apprehensive about having kids, whether from the future or not, since he is only eleven years old. But that feeling quickly dissipated when he started talking to them and found out all about them when staying up late last night. **

**The Sons are currently staying over at Capsule Corporation until Chichi is well enough to go home. According to Bulma, they could send her home as soon as tomorrow! **

**Gohan can't wait to get home and spend some time with his little brother. Goten is his name and he is the most adorable little baby he's ever seen! With such a strong resemblance to his father, Gohan can't help but think that he's going to be a great fighter someday. That being said, he doesn't ever want Goten to have to go through what he had to as a child. While he told his father that he doesn't regret his choices during the start of his childhood, he will go to Hell and back to make sure that his baby brother (who Gohan secretly considers his son as well) will never have to face a sadistic intergalactic tyrant or an insane biomechanical android. **

**Gohan also secretly hopes that his son and daughter, Goken and Pan, can come with him to Mount Paoz as well. This would not only give him a great opportunity to spend some time with them, but it would also give him good practice on how to be a parent, which he knows that he will be to Goten. **

**Gohan's thoughts are interrupted by a shout from a very irritated prince. "Dende! Will someone make that screeching kakabrat shut the hell up?!"**

"**What did you just call my son!?" a very familiar shriek echoes throughout the complex. **

**Gohan sighs. He knows his mother will never get along with Vegeta, but he wishes that they will at least keep it civil enough to not have their shouting echo throughout the entire complex. He figures that Vegeta just finished some intense training and went to the Medical Ward to patch himself up. His presence probably scared Goten, which caused him to cry. This set Vegeta's already short patience with Chichi off the deep end and the shouting that was just heard probably started from that. **

**Pan and Goken are in a rare moment away from him. Right now they are getting to get to know their Grandpa Goku, who neither chibi ever got to meet either, and by 'get to know,' he means that they are probably training with him somewhere. **

**Since Gohan is by himself anyways, he figures that he should see if he can help with his brother. Gohan can tell that the shouting by both of the adults present isn't helping calm the chibi down. Maybe his mother will let him hold Goten for a while! He loves holding his brother; it gives him a warm feeling that he gets nowhere else. **

**He can tell that the infant really loves him and that really makes the demi-saiyan happy. He originally was afraid that his baby brother would cower away from him in fear or start crying in his presence, but Goten has never done anything like that in the demi-saiyan's presence. **

**On his way down to his mother's room, Gohan runs into Vegeta. Apparently the shouting match between the two has been put on hiatus, most likely because the saiyan prince couldn't stand anymore screeching from not only his brother, but his mother as well. Vegeta barely grunts to acknowledge his presence before storming out. Gohan figures that he's on his way to make Bulma's mother make him some food. **

**Gohan can continue to hear his brother's wailing on his journey to his mother's room. As Gohan approaches her room however, the wailing suddenly stops. This confuses the demi-saiyan since Goten sounded like he wasn't going to stop anytime soon, but he abruptly stopped right when Gohan made his approach to the room. **

**Gohan's curious of what this could mean so he stays outside of the room for a few moments and tries to listen through the door what his mother is trying to say. It's a good thing Gohan has saiyan hearing, otherwise this may be a little difficult to do.**

"**Goten, is someone outside the door?" He hears his mother ask. He can also hear his brother faintly whimpering as well. Gohan's eyes widen at what this could possibly mean. Does his little brother know he's here? Can he sense him? **

**Gohan can't wait any longer to find out and knocks on the door before opening it. The sight that greets him is his mother in her hospital gown in her bed with Goten in her arms. Goten however looks like he desperately wants to get out of his mother's grasp as he is extending his cute little arms towards the door, watery eyed from the crying he was doing before. As soon as Gohan makes eye contact with the tiny demi-saiyan, a grin immediately spreads across the little one's face and he gestures towards his brother with even more urgency. **

**Gohan is stunned by this revelation and immediately makes a move to take the infant, while greeting his mother. Chichi complies all too willingly for Gohan to take Goten after seeing how much the one day old wanted to be held by his brother. The little tyke immediately snuggles into Gohan's chest, all thoughts of crying completely gone. The expression of pure contentment on the infant's face makes Gohan gape at first. How is it that he brings his brother so much comfort? He was only born yesterday! How is their bond so strong already? **

**He tosses these thoughts aside as he smiles at his brother and leans down and plants a gentle kiss on Goten's forehead, eliciting a giggle from the little one. It doesn't matter how or why their bond is so close. He's just glad that his brother truly loves his presence. **

**That was the day that Gohan realized his extremely close bond with his brother and how much he truly needs him.**

* * *

_~Gohan's Mind, Present Time~_

_Gohan feels like he's been slapped in the face. His brother still needs him! Especially now that his father isn't coming back! If he lets his saiyan side win, then Goten will be in danger! He vowed that he would go to Hell and back to protect Goten! _

_What was he thinking?!_

_The golden aura from the white crystal surrounds Gohan, bringing with it an explosion of power. The whole area is lit up in golden flames as Gohan's ki continues to grow and grow. It keeps growing and doesn't stop for a long time until eventually it plateaus at a level even higher than Saiyan Gohan's! If one were to look at the demi-saiyan, they would see that he too is a super saiyan 2; his golden hair is spiked straight up except one stubborn bang that hangs over his forehead, electricity is jumping off of his body eagerly as his power is outwardly displayed, and the demi-saiyan has grown an extra two inches in height, all from the bulking up of his muscles. _

_The most noticeable difference though, or should I say indifference, is that his eyes, while hard, still show kindness and tenderness, a first in his super saiyan 2 form. Without the voice in his head, he can think clearly and because of this, he has finally reached his full potential in this form at his current base level! _

_Saiyan Gohan's jaw drops. Where did _this_ come from? He was just ready to give in, he could see it! What possibly could have happened for him to not only have the motivation to go on, but to give him his absolute full potential? The demi-saiyan's ki is even higher than his now!_

_However, this is exactly what he wanted! The ultimate challenge! A way to maximize his full power while still having a challenge. To a saiyan, this is the best thing that could have happened! He is now very anxious to get things underway. _

_A genuine smile comes across the face of Saiyan Gohan. _"Now _that's_ more like it!" _he praises._ "This is so exciting! An all-out battle! I've got a proposition for you. Whoever loses this battle must agree to fuse with the other. Deal?"

_Gohan grins at the proposition, nodding in agreement. He has all of the confidence in the world that he'll win. He would never let his brother down!_

"Alright then, it's settled!" _Saiyan Gohan responds, anticipation clear in his voice. _"Let's get this baby started!"

"After you," _Gohan says, gesturing his saiyan side to bring it on. _

_Saiyan Gohan doesn't need to be told twice. He charges Gohan at a speed only capable of the two currently fighting. The final battle for control has begun._

* * *

Translations:

chibi- cute child, dwarf

ki- energy

sensei- teacher, master

gakusei- student


	15. The Merger

**A/N: Hey hey! Well this week was pretty horrible. I was sick most of the week with a really bad cold. Because of that, I not only screwed up big time on my lab this week, but I also think I failed my first test ever in my entire life. In all honesty, writing this chapter was probably the only thing keeping me sane this week. **

**About this chapter. This is technically the final chapter in the story; however, I am going to post an epilogue after this chapter. It hopefully will be on schedule (meaning Monday) but it might be delayed until Friday depending on how much I get done this weekend. **

**I'm not going to lie; a lot, and I mean A LOT goes on in this chapter. If anyone thinks that it's too much please let me know. I'm so glad I decided to split chapter 12 into three chapters. I added up all of the word totals in chapters 11, 13, and 14 (I also find it somewhat funny that out of all three components of what used to be chapter 12, none of them ended up being chapter 12) and I ended up with 36,995 words! That would be ridiculous for one chapter, not to mention a ton to take in. **

**Please give me feedback on this chapter. I believe that this one is by far my most complex one and I would really appreciate what you guy think makes sense and what you think might be unrealistic. **

**Now on with the chapter! The final chapter in the story! **

"dialogue"

_thoughts/mind_

_"telepathic communication"_

~change in setting~

*action*

**flashback**

* * *

Chapter 14: The Merger

_~Gohan's Mind, Age 768~_

_The battle of the century… no the millennium… no of ALL TIME is taking place inside Gohan's mind. The center of this battle is none other than an eleven year old demi-saiyan in a battle against his saiyan side for ultimate control. The battle is of epic proportions! The sheer power is overwhelming and if they were not fighting inside Gohan's mind their battle would be felt for trillions of miles! _

_As of right now, neither party has the upper hand. Despite Gohan's ki advantage over his saiyan side, the natural saiyan instinct in Saiyan Gohan makes up for it and he is able to battle on and keep up with the demi-saiyan. The battle itself is like a graceful dance; there are no wasted movements and both parties seem to be able to react to the other perfectly. _

_The battle rages on for another couple of hours with nobody seeming the least bit tired. Both Gohan and Saiyan Gohan are running high on epinephrine at this point, Saiyan Gohan because of his love for battle and Gohan because of his drive to protect his brother. Both continue their planned onslaughts for another hour until finally they break to catch their breath._

_Saiyan Gohan is grinning like a madman, a genuine grin and not an evil one. He is having so much fun in this battle that he forgot his true purpose for the fighting in the first place! _

_Gohan can't help but smile at the sight. It's moments like this that make the demi-saiyan think that his saiyan side isn't actually evil. Of course a quick ki scan would say otherwise if he judges by the coldness. Still, just like his father did in Vegeta, he sees hope that maybe Saiyan Gohan will actually willingly fight alongside him as a part of his mind. He knows that all he has to do is win this battle and he will comply, but he would rather not have to go through with it._

_Secretly, Gohan has still been holding back. He was fighting his saiyan side only at the level that Saiyan Gohan is at. Unlike his saiyan side, Gohan doesn't have that lust for battle. He would rather be able to merge with him without having to beat him into submission. It is for this reason why he still hasn't gone all out; why he's still hiding some power. Sure it's long shot, but then again, so was teaming up with Vegeta. _

_He just hopes his saiyan side doesn't notice, because that could lead to problems. If Vegeta is anything to go by when it comes to saiyan pride, than there's no doubt that his saiyan side will get absolutely furious if he found out that his opponent wasn't going all out. This could lead to desperation on Saiyan Gohan's part, and that could lead to trouble. _

"Yes!" _Saiyan Gohan finally says, still grinning. _"This is what I've been waiting for! An all-out battle, no holding back against a worthy opponent! Isn't this absolutely exhilarating?!"

_Gohan sheepishly nods. He doesn't think so. The only reason he is battling is to protect Goten. His little brother is what is driving him through this battle. _

"Well let's not waste any more time!" _Saiyan Gohan suggests, excitement lacing his voice. _"Ready or not here I come!"

_Saiyan Gohan starts the exchange again. He goes after Gohan with a punch to his left side that would be strong enough to be able to break the earth into pieces. However, it is merely blocked by Gohan's forearm. A fierce exchange ensues once again and the battle goes on for another few hours. _

_Once again, neither side seems to have an advantage. However, if one were to look at the subtle signs, they would be able to distinguish that Saiyan Gohan's movements are starting to become more labored whereas Gohan still is moving effortlessly. They would also see that Saiyan Gohan is starting to become a bit more sloppy in his attack whereas Gohan's guard is still sustained perfectly. It is clear to an experienced fighter that Gohan is holding back while Saiyan Gohan is going all out. _

_Finally another break in the action occurs. Saiyan Gohan is starting to huff from exhaustion while Gohan, while panting a little, is obviously in much better shape than his saiyan side. He is patiently waiting out the battle, hoping that eventually, Saiyan Gohan will realize that he's not going to win and finally merge with him. Unlike Saiyan Gohan, Gohan hasn't really made too many offensive moves in their exchanges, just enough to keep suspicions at bay. _

_Saiyan Gohan however is starting to catch on. The fact that the demi-saiyan isn't as exhausted as he is hasn't gone unnoticed by the saiyan. Just like Gohan, Saiyan Gohan has acute observation skills. He notices that his breath isn't as labored as his is, or the fact that he hasn't been attacking too much… at least not as much as he was before. After putting everything together, he realizes the horrible truth:_

_Gohan hasn't been giving it his all._

_He is merely toying with him._

_And that makes him furious!_

"What the hell do you think you're getting at?!" _Saiyan Gohan shouts furiously at his opponent. This surprises Gohan and makes him gulp. He's figured it out! _"I refuse to be toyed with! Go all out or I will make you!"

_Saiyan Gohan is blinded by rage. The mere thought of someone not taking him seriously grinds his gears like no tomorrow! He's a saiyan, a _super_ saiyan, heck a super saiyan _2_! He's more powerful than anyone in the universe, yet his opponent/host isn't even trying his best!_

_In his rage, he makes a blind decision and starts forming a Kamehameha wave. He completely forgets that the last time he tried this that Gohan was able to deflect it, and that was when they were equals in power! However, this is the strongest attack that he knows and he plans to blast whoever dare not take him seriously to oblivion!_

"Ka… me… ha…me…" _Saiyan Gohan chants the ever familiar cadence to the signature attack of the Turtle school of martial arts. A blue orb of ki forms in his cupped hands at his side as he tries to put as much ki into this attack as he can. _

_Gohan shakes his head and gets ready to defend against the attack. He knows that he will have to dig into his power to deflect this, but he has all of the confidence in the world that he can, just like the last time. He starts gathering ki and his golden, electric aura springs up around him as he prepares for the attack. _

"Ha!" _Saiyan Gohan shouts, thrusting his hands forward towards his opponent, releasing the blue ki in a beam that absolutely gigantic. The sheer power of this Kamehameha could probably wipe out the solar system! Luckily for them that while the pain they feel is real, this is a psychotic battle, so no real damage to the surroundings can take place. _

_Gohan gets into a defensive stance as the attack barrels towards him. He puts the ki he gathered in his hands and gets ready to stop the beam in its tracks. As soon as the blue ki wave reaches him, Gohan completely halts its progress with a grunt. _

_Saiyan Gohan eyes widen considerably. _How is this possible?!_ He seethes inwardly. _I put everything in that attack that I could! How can he stop it!? _Saiyan Gohan then realizes his mistake in using the Kamehameha wave. He finally figures out that Gohan has had so much experience against deflecting Kamehamehas that are stronger than him that he has the perfect technique for defending against it. Of course he realizes his blunder too late. He knows that pouring more ki into the attack will just work against him as well so instead he cuts off the attack, and lets Gohan defect it off to the background. _

How could I be so stupid!_ Saiyan Gohan curses in his head for letting anger blind him. He can barely maintain his ascended state now! He knows that he strands no chance if this situation persists. _What can I do? _He asks himself._ I've drawn all of the power that I possibly can from the crystal. I need to find another way to build up power.

_It's then that he notices his tail for the first time in a long while, just swinging back and forth. A light bulb goes off in his head. _I could transform into my oozaru form! That would give me a gigantic ki advantage, plus he can't because he doesn't have a tail! Now I just have to remember how Vegeta did that moon ball technique… something to do with blutz waves… AHA! I've got it! Ooh Gohan you will pay for toying with me!

_Gohan looks over at his opponent, and can't help the grin that come to his face. He's so depleted of ki! If he could just convince him…_

"You should just give up," _Gohan boldly states. _"Face it! That last attack took a ton out of you! If this keeps up, you will be defeated easy!"

_Saiyan Gohan just lets off a chuckle, a maniacal chuckle. He starts cackling harder now as he looks up at his opponent. He throws his head back and continues laughing crazily, making Gohan impatient and confused. _

"What's so funny?" _Gohan sharply inquires. His saiyan side is acting strange for someone at such a ki disadvantage and he doesn't like it. _

_Saiyan Gohan continues to laugh as he tries to answer. _"I was just picturing your reaction after I did _this_!" _He stops cackling and an evil grin makes its way onto his face. _"Behold, the _true_ power of a saiyan!" _Saiyan Gohan clenches his right hand into a fist and starts gathering ki. It starts glowing with white ki, like he is preparing a ki attack of some sort. _

_Gohan gets in a defensive stance, ready to counter anything his saiyan side can throw at him. He is trying to figure out what the technique is. It looks familiar to him, but he doesn't recognize it right away. He concludes that it must have happened a long time ago. Still, he can't help but wonder what it is. His saiyan side said it has to do with the true power of a saiyan? The demi-saiyan tries to see if this means anything._

_After a lot of ki gathering, Saiyan Gohan opens his fist and out pops a small, bright white ball of ki. This confuses Gohan as that attack doesn't look like it will do much damage at all. He silently contemplates why he would take all of that time gathering ki for that tiny ball of energy. _

_Saiyan Gohan then palms the white ball of ki and throws it… into the sky? This makes the demi-saiyan even more confused. Why would he throw that ball into the sky? Then again, he knows he's seen this before, he just can't figure out where. _

"Haha!" _Saiyan Gohan cries. _"I will admit that you had me on the ropes Gohan. You made me resort to this… but now you will have no chance!" _He starts cackling again as he closes his fist and the ki ball in the air explodes, flooding the area with blutz waves similar to that of the full moon. _

_As soon as the ball explodes and he can feel the difference in the air, Gohan's eyes widen in horror as he finally remembers where he saw this technique from. Vegeta did this technique when he first came to Earth and it allowed him to transform into his oozaru form! He remembers how much stronger it made him as well! The most dangerous thing about his saiyan side doing it though is that unlike Vegeta, he doesn't have control over it! He could very well go crazy and end up causing some serious damage to his mind! What if he hits the white crystal? He would be stronger than it in his oozaru form, which would allow him to actually do damage to it and possibly destroy it! That would cut off his source of power… _

_Wait… that it! _

_Gohan just realized that _he_ is now stronger than the purple crystal! Earlier, he dismissed the idea of attacking it since he was so much weaker than it; however, now his ki level has risen above it. His superior ki level against his saiyan side earlier proved that! He knows that if he allows Saiyan Gohan to become an oozaru though, he will have no chance since he remembers how powerful it made Vegeta._

_He also has a theory as to what will happen once he destroys the crystal. He has recently come to the conclusion that saiyans are actually not inherently evil despite common belief that they are. If they were, then he realizes that despite his father's amnesia of his past, he still would have moved towards the path of destruction growing up since his natural instinct would lean towards evil actions. That obviously didn't happen. Instead, he figures that their minds were warped by Frieza and his family and that is the reason they took over entire planets and killed off entire populations of people. No, Gohan knows the real issue._

_Pride._

_A saiyan's most overwhelming trait is their pride. It is unmatched by any race in the universe. Saiyans live off of their pride. If you mess with a saiyans pride, there will be hell to pay! Consequently, they thrive when their pride is highest–when others are at their lowest in pride. They build on their pride by reducing the pride of others, and the best way to do this is to make others doubt themselves and lead to self-hatred. Proof of this is the fact that his saiyan side was literally able to gain power off of Gohan's thoughts of self-loathing._

_Gohan's theory is that once he destroys the purple crystal, he will destroy his source of negative ki, which is what triggers his thoughts of self-loathing. Once he does this, his saiyan side, in theory, will lose all of his power he was able to build off of from those thoughts and his ki will wilt. He also believes that as a side effect of this depletion of negative ki, his saiyan side will no longer have any thoughts of destruction or torture that comes with evil thoughts because of his earlier theory that saiyans aren't inherently evil. Since this is the case, Gohan believes that it would be like his father all over again; he wouldn't have any negative ki to build evil thoughts off of._

_This would make his merger a lot less risky than it would be otherwise since he wouldn't have any latent evil thoughts, plus it might even make him more willing to merge. The one issue he will have either way is the saiyan pride; however, he also remembers their verbal agreement at the start of this rematch in which the loser of this match will have to merge with the other. His saiyan pride will force him to abide by this agreement, hence all Gohan has to do to get him to merge is win the match. _

_With this plan in mind, Gohan starts gathering ki for the biggest Kamehameha wave he can muster. Since he's aiming for an inanimate object, the lack of driving force isn't an issue, yet it has the best opportunity to destroy the crystal because it has the most power. He charges his Kamehameha as Saiyan Gohan is transforming. He knows that this is his only chance to gather enough ki to be able to break something as powerful as the purple crystal since he won't get a chance with an irate oozaru attacking him constantly. _

"Ka… me… ha… me…" _Gohan chants as he gathers everything he can into this blast. Because the crystal's so powerful, he has to put everything into this blast, making it a huge gamble. He might not even be able to hold his first super saiyan form after he unleashes it, but if it works, his saiyan side will have no ki to retaliate with. This is Gohan's only chance!_

_As soon as Saiyan Gohan completes his transformation, he lets off a gigantic roar. The ki coming from the ape is absolutely humongous! It's ten times higher than it was before! Since he was a super saiyan 2 when he transformed, the ape's fur is gold and there's bolts of lightning jumping off of the beast, making an intimidating sight. _

_The oozaru now sets his blood red eyes on Gohan. The demi-saiyan looks up for a moment and smirks at the beast before thrusting his cupped hands forwards. _

"Ha!" _the demi-saiyan yells, unleashing his ki blast at the purple crystal. The oozaru stomps over towards Gohan as the blast makes its way towards the purple crystal in an attempt to take out the demi-saiyan when all of a sudden, a large explosion sounds and the whole area is lit up in bright blue light as the Kamehameha connects with its target._

_Direct hit!_

_Gohan continues to dump ki into the attack, making sure he gets everything he possibly can into destroying the crystal. Finally, he can't support the ki beam anymore and he stops the ki flow, dropping out of his super saiyan 2 form, reverting all the way to his base form in exhaustion. _

_Smoke fills the area where the attack made contact and Gohan watches in anxious anticipation as the smoke clears to reveal…_

_The purple crystal… _

_With no signs of damage…_

_Gohan is frozen in place, eyes wide in disbelief. How is it possible?! He put everything into that kamehameha! It should have turned the crystal to dust!_

_Saiyan Gohan once more spots his prey after his sensitive eyes readjust from the bright light. There's no thought in his head other than attack the now black haired demi-saiyan. He roars and once again stomps over to Gohan. The ki difference between the two now is absolutely gigantic. _

_Gohan drops to his knees, not even trying to defend himself. His last chance is gone. He used too much ki on that Kamehameha. There's no way he can even defend himself. He looks at the raging oozaru charging towards him with a look of indifference. All he can hear is the loud roars of Saiyan Gohan and the cracking of the ground beneath his giant form._

_Wait… cracking of the ground?_

_The floor doesn't look like it's cracking at all! In fact, the floor has proved time and time again to be indestructible. But then where is that cracking coming from? Gohan starts looking around to find the source of the cracking when he is suddenly interrupted by a sensation of pure pain. Saiyan Gohan finally made his way over and punched Gohan with one of his gigantic fists, sending the demi-saiyan flying across the area. The oozaru pounds his chest and lets out another ear piercing roar as he makes his way back over to the demi-saiyan who is sprawled out on the ground miles away from where he was before. The ape makes his way over quickly and punches the demi-saiyan back toward the original area. Once again, after he does this, he lets off a primal roar and pounds his chest in a gorilla like fashion. _

_Gohan is hit so hard that he slams into something solid after skidding miles. He is barely hanging onto consciousness after the two punches by the oozaru. In an effort to get back to his feet, he tries to use whatever he slammed into as support. Gohan finally realizes that the object that he slammed into was none other than the purple crystal. However, when he looks up at it, his eyes widen and he blinks a couple of times to make sure he's seeing things correctly. _

_There's a giant crack in the crystal! It runs from the very top all the way to the floor. Gohan can also see that the crack is starting to branch off. So that's what was making that cracking sound! Gohan is ecstatic! His Kamehameha didn't destroy the crystal outright, but it did do damage. _

_Saiyan Gohan is looking around blindly for something to destroy. He hit Gohan so hard the last time that he lost track of where he went and now is looking for him. Since he has no control over his oozaru form, he is looking for anything, anything at all to destroy. Since the physical space that they are fighting in is completely empty, the great ape trudges around in search of something. _

_Since the oozaru is so big, Gohan can see him looking around desperately for something from all the way where he is. He decides to use this to his advantage. He knows that from that far away, the white crystal isn't visible, but the purple one is. Gohan's plan is to hide behind the white crystal and make the oozaru attack the purple one. With all of his power, he should be able to destroy it easily, taking out his ki source along with it! _

_Gohan limps as fast as he can, trying to ignore the dizziness that sets in from moving too fast. Eventually, he is able to get behind the white crystal and hide himself behind it, the only thing keeping him standing is the anxious anticipation of his plan in progress. _

_Saiyan Gohan meanwhile finally notices the purple crystal from where he is. Just as Gohan predicted, he immediately tries to destroy it, going with his primal instincts that are being influenced by his negative ki. The oozaru lets off a fierce roar, sending a powerful ki beam from his mouth towards the crystal in the process. A gigantic explosion ensues, lighting up the area in a bright white light. _

_Once again, the area is filled in a thick smoke from the explosion. As the smoke clears this time however, the purple crystal is no longer standing, in fact, there's no trace that it ever even existed!_

_The force of the explosion sends Gohan flying since he was close enough to get caught in the aftershock and is currently exhausted beyond belief. He ends up landing on his back a few hundred feet away unconscious._

_Saiyan Gohan seems to be frozen in place. As soon as his ki beam made contact with the crystal he seemed to lose the ability to move. Up in the sky, the moon ball starts flickering and fading into nothingness and Saiyan Gohan reverts back to his normal form since the source of blutz waves is no longer present. As soon as he is once again normal size, Saiyan Gohan collapses face down and passes out from pure exhaustion and from the lack of ki. _

_A double knock out!_

* * *

_Hours pass before either Gohan stirs. Finally, the demi-saiyan Gohan (the original one) is able to rid himself of his sleepiness and get up. _

Man, it feels like I got run over by a truck!_ He internally complains. He then tries to remember what happened before he got knocked out. He walks around aimlessly trying to remember when he finally sees the white crystal that he used as refuge from the oozaru Saiyan Gohan. When he sees the crystal everything comes back: the fight with Saiyan Gohan; the way he used his thoughts of self-loathing to draw power from the purple crystal; the way he was able to draw power from the white crystal; his final battle against his saiyan side; Saiyan Gohan transforming into an oozaru; him trying to destroy the purple crystal with a Kamehameha but only managing to crack it. The last thing he remembers is tricking Saiyan Gohan into blasting the purple crystal. That's when the demi-saiyan realizes something:_

_The purple crystal isn't here!_

_Gohan is so happy he could jump for joy. The pounding headache he has however makes him reconsider that decision. Still though, he does have _some _ki. Not much: only about a quarter of his full base power, but it should be plenty to make his saiyan side realize that he lost the battle since he doesn't even have a power source anymore!_

_Now that he can't feel him anymore, Gohan looks around the area for his saiyan side. After about a half hour of searching, he finally finds a naked Saiyan Gohan passed out face first on the ground. Luckily Gohan inherited his father's sense of modesty so the fact that he's naked doesn't bother him. The demi-saiyan sits down by him and patiently waits for the saiyan to stir. _

_After about another ten minutes, Saiyan Gohan finally awakens back into the land of the conscious. He blinks a couple of times and rubs his eyes with his fists to get his vision to clear. The first sight he sees after waking up is an insanely grinning Gohan. _

_The first thing that Gohan notices once his saiyan side finally opens his eyes is the fact that his eyes are no longer cold and hard. While they don't necessarily show warmth and kindness like Gohan's do, they don't show any of the coldness or ruthlessness that they did before. It actually reminds him of the current Vegeta. _

_After sitting up, Saiyan Gohan immediately grabs his head and winces in pain. _"Ugh…" _the saiyan moans. _"What happened? I don't remember a thing,"

_Gohan continues to grin at his saiyan counterpart. _"Well, we had an intense battle!" _Gohan replies. _

_Saiyan Gohan nods in understanding. _"That would explain why I have this excruciating headache." _He smiles. _"It must have been incredible if you were able to knock me out. I mean after all. I am the strongest warrior in the universe."

"Actually funny story," _Gohan responds, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly._ "You actually knocked yourself out. You were definitely winning until you destroyed the purple crystal. I mean after you transformed into an oozaru–"

"I transformed into an oozaru?!" _Saiyan Gohan interrupts his host. _"I must have been incredibly desperate to do that! I don't have control of that form and could destroy everything! I don't know what I was thinking!"

_Gohan's grin widens as Saiyan Gohan says this. His theory was right! His saiyan side lost all desire to pointlessly destroy and kill once the source of negative ki was destroyed._

_Saiyan Gohan then looks down and suddenly realizes he's naked for the first time. Like all saiyans, he really doesn't think too much of it. _"Is that why I'm naked?"

_Gohan laughs and shakes his head. _"Yeah, that would be the reason. Here, you can have my pants… or what's left of them." _He unties his sash and takes off his pants, leaving him only in boxers and a gi top. He hands his pants to Saiyan Gohan who quickly puts them on and ties the sash to keep them up. He doesn't need to make a hole for his tail since the pants are already ripped all over so he just uses one of them in the back _

"One good thing about being your counterpart is that we are the exact same size haha!" _Saiyan Gohan jokes. _

_Gohan is stunned at the difference in Saiyan Gohan's personality. He figured that the absence of negative ki would make him less of a villainous presence, but he never expected him to be _joking_ with him! It's like their best friends! Gohan was expecting to have to have to fight him again at least until his saiyan side had to give in after realizing that he doesn't have any ki to fight back with. However, it looks as though this 'new' Saiyan Gohan might not even put up a fight at all! He might even willingly agree! He has no clue how this is possible, but he's not complaining!_

_Saiyan Gohan then looks over his host and sees the condition he is in._ "Man you look beat up!" _he exclaims, surprising Gohan with the amount of concern in his voice. _"I must have done a number on you! Since I apparently have amnesia of the events that took place, could you tell me exactly what happened here?"

_Gohan is hesitant about telling him. If he remembers the events that transpired then he could revert back. After some thought on the matter though, Gohan realizes that he won't revert back since there is no negative ki to make him. So Gohan tell him everything from the very beginning. He tells him about their first encounter in Other World during the rebellion in Hell and how he started talking to him, encouraging him to torture Cell; he explains to his saiyan side how he used his negative thoughts to take over his mind and do the same to Piccolo and his father; he tells him about how he made him so afraid to transform that it lead to his father having to sacrifice himself; he tells him about the struggle after the Bojack incident and how the his influence lead him to needing to sacrifice himself for Pan and Goken; finally, he tells him all of the details of the battle that just took place, including how they both drew ki from the crystals and how they battled it out as super saiyan 2's. Most importantly though, he tells him about the verbal agreement they had about the loser having to merge with the winner. _

_As Gohan continues with his explanation, everything starts coming back to Saiyan Gohan. He starts remembering everything. He even remembers when this whole thing started, before even the rebellion in Hell. Yes, Saiyan Gohan remembers the exact moment when he started lusting for power. _

_The Cell Games._

_Saiyan Gohan starts explaining to Gohan how he became like he was. It was the introduction of the negative ki into his system once he transformed into a super saiyan 2. He believes it was the immense hatred for Cell that supplied this negative ki. This is what drove his anger over the top and allowed him to reach the next level of super saiyan, but he reached it using negative ki, using his hatred for Cell rather than righteous anger of protecting his family and friends. He believes that under the influence of this negative ki, he willingly tortured Cell and didn't hesitate to threaten his father. _

_This continued until he saw how disappointed his father looked. __Saiyan Gohan then tells him that this is where he remembers lusting to take over. His pride was being fed by the self-loathing that Gohan had and this is what made him think that he deserved to take over this body since he was obviously much stronger. He then explains that since he was feeding off of negative ki, this is what corrupted his views on how to gain this control. However, Saiyan Gohan stresses that he no longer feels this way since Gohan proved that he was the stronger one in the clearest way in his mind: an all-out battle._

_Gohan listens to Saiyan Gohan's tale intensely, eyes widening as he continues. He sees how much sense this all actually makes and sees how his hatred for Cell definitely influenced him. He remembers clearly now that once Cell destroyed Android Sixteen's head that he went absolutely ballistic with hate. He then remembers that all his actions up to the point where he saw his father crying were all to make Cell suffer either mentally or physically. He remembers that even giving Mirai Trunks the senzu to give to everyone was just a ploy to get Cell angry and annoyed. He didn't care about them at all at that point, and remembering this makes the demi-saiyan frown._

_However, Gohan stops the self-loathing before it can take action. He realizes that that is all in the past and that he will never do that again. This has all been a gigantic learning experience for him to control these thoughts before they get out of hand. Does he still feel somewhat guilty? Sure. But the fact that everyone understands that he wasn't himself and the fact that they all already forgave him allows the demi-saiyan to finally forgive himself._

_Yes, Gohan holds no more thoughts of self-loathing towards the events that happened at the Cell Games. _

_As soon as Gohan gets that off of his mind, he realizes what his saiyan side said at the end. He admitted that Gohan is the stronger warrior! The demi-saiyan knows how hard that must have been to admit since his saiyan pride would normally not allow him to admit that someone is better than him. _

"Wow I can't believe that you admitted that I was stronger…"_ Gohan says, stunned._

_Saiyan Gohan scowls. As true as it is, he hated saying that Gohan is the stronger one, so Gohan reiterating this irritates him. _"Yes, yes I did." _Saiyan Gohan retorts with clear irritation in his voice. _"I also know that my pride won't let me back down on our agreement, so I… I… I willingly will merge with you."

_Gohan's jaw drops, much to the sheer irritation of the full saiyan. Can't he at least hide his surprise?! _"A-Are you serious?" _Gohan asks, completely oblivious of how irritated he's making Saiyan Gohan. He's just so shocked that it was so easy! Well… actually the whole battle that happened to get to this point was incredibly difficult, but still, he thought that his saiyan side would put up more of a fight. _

"Yes I'm serious!" _Saiyan Gohan responds with a huff._ "There's no point in going against it. I know that I can't beat you, plus I was the one who initiated the deal in the first place. What does that make me if I go back on my word? No, I would rather merge with you than lose my pride!" _He says all of this with increasing anger as he hates admitting that he lost. _

_He truly does have saiyan pride._

_He takes a moment to calm down and finally smirks as he continues._ "Besides, I will still be able to enjoy the battles that you go into, plus, if we're this strong already separate, think of how great we will be together! I truly look forward to showing off our new power!"

_Gohan can't help but gape at his saiyan side. This all seems too good to be true! His saiyan side actually _wants_ to merge with him? He said he's looking forward to it? Even with the source of negative ki gone, Gohan would have never expected this in a million years! His expression quickly turns into a grin though at the prospect of merging with his saiyan side. _

"We really will be unstoppable!" _Gohan says enthusiastically. _"Not only will we be much more powerful, but we will have so much more control of our power! Nobody will stand a chance in a fight!"

"Exactly!" _Saiyan Gohan replies, now a small smile in his face. While he'd rather have his own mind for himself, he can't think of anyone more worthy to fuse with. If he has to fuse, he's glad that he got the strongest warrior in the universe to fuse with. _

"Before we fuse though I do have one question…" _Gohan suddenly says, causing his saiyan side to nod affirmatively to let him know he's paying attention. _"I'm just curious, but how did you know the moon ball technique? I've only seen Vegeta do it once… and that was a very long time ago."

_Saiyan Gohan smirks as he get a chance to show off his pride. _"Well it actually is a really easy move to do. Only seeing Vegeta do it once was enough for me to get down the proper technique for gathering ki and shooting it into the air. That part wasn't hard at all. The difficult part was remembering what kind of ki I needed to gather in order to get the effect I wanted. I know that normal ki would just create a bright explosion and would tapper off right away, so I tried to remember what it felt like back when Vegeta did it. The ki that was radiating off of the ball was completely different than normal ki and then I suddenly remembered that he called that ball a form of ki called blutz waves. Once I figured this out, I tried to find that same ki inside until eventually, I found it. I don't know how I knew it was the right ki, but I guess it was just instinct."

_Gohan is impressed. That was no small feat to be able to find the correct ki for the moon ball. _"That's incredible! How were you able to do that? That would seriously take some impressive ki manipulation skills!"

"Hey, where do you think your son got his from?" _Sayian Gohan replies with a smirk. He loves showing off his pride every chance he gets_

"Touché_._"_ Gohan responds, smiling. _"Alright you ready to merge?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," _Saiyan Gohan replies curtly. _"Well let's get this show on the road!"

_Gohan blushes a bit and rubs the back of his head sheepishly. _"Umm… do you know how to do this?" _He suddenly asks, causing Saiyan Gohan to face fault comically._

"You've got to be kidding me…" _Saiyan Gohan replies, face palming his forehead. _"All you have to do is put your hand to my chest and then I will merge into you since you have my compliance."

"Oh. Okay!" _Gohan says cheerfully, the simpleness of the answer making saiyan Gohan sweat drop. Gohan does exactly what his saiyan side told him to and puts his right hand on his saiyan counterpart's chest. As soon as this happens, Saiyan Gohan starts glowing white and a huge bright explosion takes place. As soon as the explosion ends, Gohan feels himself getting pulled out of his mind and back into Other World._

* * *

~North Snake Way, Upper Heaven, Other World~

Goku and King Kai patiently wait for Gohan to finish his training. It has been two days since the demi-saiyan started the training and there are absolutely no signs of how he's doing. For the past two days, he has been in a meditative trance; he is in the famous lotus position with his eyes closed and a look of concentration on his face. His expression hasn't changed at all since the beginning, leaving both the blue deity and the dead saiyan in the dark on how the training is going.

"Man, they must be in an intense battle if he's still not finished yet!" King Kai suddenly comments. "Normally this only takes a few hours, but I guess that saiyan side is really stubborn, what with the saiyan pride he possesses probably making him refuse to cooperate."

"I sure hope Gohan's okay…" Goku adds absentmindedly. He has been worried about his son ever since the first few hours passed. He has no doubt that Gohan will win, but still, he's his son! A father is going to worry.

"Gohan will be fine," King Kai reassures the saiyan. It isn't often when Goku isn't cheerful and carefree. This is new to King Kai, but it doesn't surprise him in the least. "He has a strong will to fight and has plenty of motivation."

"You're right King Kai," Goku responds, gaining back a bit of his nerve. "Gohan is incredibly talented and I have all the confidence in him…" Goku's mood drops again. "I just can't help but worry though. This is my _son_ we're talking about. This is the reason I'm staying here in first place: I'm worried about him."

Yes, Goku's decision to stay in Other World. King Kai can't ignore the fact that Goku is eventually going to have to break the news to his son about his decision. The deity doesn't particularly agree with his decision. While the Ruler of the North believes that Gohan is very mature for his age, he still can't get over the fact that he's only eleven. Forcing him to become the father figure of his neonate brother is a ton of responsibility to suddenly jettison onto him, as strong as the bond between the two is. He can't help but wonder what Gohan's reaction to this will be.

Still, he can also see where Goku is coming from. There is a correlation between the enemies that come to Earth and his presence. The enemies do have a tendency to target him out of everyone. He also can see how he believes that despite Gohan's age, that he would do an excellent job in raising Goten. He knows that Goku thought the decision over very thoroughly and that the saiyan believes that he made the right decision.

King Kai finally addresses Goku on this issue. "Goku, you know that you will have to tell your son about you're decision eventually," the deity says seriously. King Kai is fearful of the demi-saiyan's reaction. He has a feeling it will not go over too well, especially after Goku explains his reasoning behind the decision. "Have you thought about how you're going to break the news to him? He'll be devastated when he first finds out."

Goku grimaces at the thought. "Trust me King Kai, I'm been thinking but I'm still not sure exactly. I'm really not looking forward to–"

Goku is cut off by a sudden spike in his son's ki. Immediately both he and King Kai look over towards the demi-saiyan. Gohan eyes suddenly shoot straight open and he starts screaming at the top of his lungs as he is thrust into an extremely bright golden aura. The shockwave from this as well as the intense winds that suddenly pick up out of nowhere knock both spectators off their feet and on their backsides.

They continue to look at the scene in awe. Gohan's ki is rising exponentially and at a rate that has never been felt before. Sparks of electricity start filling his golden aura, giving him an incredible appearance of raw power and energy. Gohan continues to scream as this continues for another few minutes. His ki has surpassed that of his previous limitations already, yet it continues to go up and up! There seems to be no end in sight for this incredible display of power!

Finally, the brightness of the golden flames fades as his aura steadies around the demi-saiyan, full bolts of lightning constantly lighting up the aura, eagerly jumping off of the demi-saiyan's body. As for Gohan himself, he now is in his typical super saiyan 2 form; his hair is a golden color, spiked straight up except for one stubborn bang that hangs over his forehead, and his eyes are a teal color that is characteristic of the super saiyan transformation.

However, the thing that awes both spectators besides the dramatic increase in ki is the fact that in Gohan's eyes, they can see gentleness and tenderness. The demi-saiyan is also sporting the typical Son grin on his face.

Gohan has done it!

He has completely mastered the super saiyan 2 transformation!

"He he, sorry about that guys," Gohan sheepishly says, rubbing the back of his head. "I didn't mean to startle you and knock you guys over."

Goku and King Kai continue to gape at the demi-saiyan, neither expecting him to have this much control over this form after being afraid to even use it a couple of days ago!

"Umm guys…" Gohan speaks up again after seeing his father and King Kai just gape at him. "Aren't you going to say anything?"

Goku finally finds the voice to speak. "G-gohan?!" He manages to speak out. "I-is that you?"

The demi-saiyan frowns at his father's comment, making his aura dissipate in the process. Lighting continues to jump off of his body however as the power of this form is still too raw to control it. Gohan mentally takes a note to work on that when he gets back to Earth. "Yes dad, who else would I be?"

Goku continues to gape. He never expected such a dramatic change! It's like he didn't transform at all! As he contuse to observe his son, Goku also notices something different about his son. "Gohan," the saiyan says, shock very apparent in his voice. "You got your tail back!"

Gohan looks confused for a minute until he notices a furry gold appendage wavering back and forth. Indeed, his tail did grow back. "I guess I did, he he!" Gohan replies happily. He loved having his tail and he's glad that it grew back. It also is a good thing that Piccolo destroyed the moon six years ago; now his mom won't have an excuse to get rid of it.

King Kai finally regains his composure and speaks up for the first time since Gohan finished training. "That is one of the side effects of the fusion apparently," the blue deity comments, much cheerfulness in his voice. "It seems that our Gohan won the internal battle like we thought he would, eh Gohan?"

Gohan grins at King Kai, now returning to his base form to stop overloading everyone's senses. His hair returns to its normal black color and his eyes to their normal onyx. His tail also returns to its normal brown color and Gohan wraps it around his waist. "Yes King Kai I did!" the demi-saiyan replies very enthusiastically. "It wasn't easy, but I won in the end."

"Well tell us what happened Gohan!" Goku demands his son, excitement and pride clear in his voice. He, of course, knew his son would succeed, but he never expected the results to be this overwhelmingly good.

Gohan obliges to his father's request and starts to tell them both what exactly went on in his head. He goes over the whole battle with his saiyan side, not leaving out details about the two crystals and how both he and his saiyan side drew power from them. He them goes into the final battle and how Saiyan Gohan was so desperate that he used the moon ball technique, a technique neither of the intent listeners even knew the demi-saiyan had knowledge of, to transform into an oozaru. He also describes how he tried to blow up the purple crystal by launching a full-power Kamehameha at it. They both gasp when Gohan tells them that it didn't work and how he was left with almost no ki afterwards. Once he explains how he got Saiyan Gohan to destroy the crystal however, both listeners praise him for his quick and logical thinking.

Gohan goes on to tell both King Kai and his father about how Saiyan Gohan acted after they both woke up. His change in personality comes to a shock to Goku, but King Kai merely nods his head in acknowledgement, making it seem as if he saw it coming. However, even he was surprised when Gohan told them both how easily he got Saiyan Gohan to comply. The deity knows that normally saiyan pride would prevent that from happening without a fight. It seems that Gohan must have been able to gain his saiyan counterparts respect, and in more ways than one if it was that easy.

Throughout all of this however, the demi-saiyan leaves out the fact that he found out about his father's decision to stay dead. He deliberately did this since he wants his father to tell him himself and explain to him exactly why he came to that decision. Gohan, now that his mind is perfectly at balance, can rationalize that his father probably wouldn't make this big of a decision without thinking it over a great deal and probably has a solid explanation as to why he would stay gone. He knows with all of his heart that, while his father might have been disappointed in him for how he acted in the whole Bojack scenario, that he wouldn't refuse to come back just because of that alone; the simple reason behind that is because of the fact that his father loves him, and the demi-saiyan knows that now more than ever.

"Gohan," Goku says after Gohan is finished with his tale. "You don't know just how proud that makes me to hear how you not only won the battle, but how you were able to gain the respect of your saiyan counterpart. That is not an easy task! Just take Vegeta as an example and you'll know exactly what I mean!" Indeed, Goku's eyes are shining with pride in his son as he says this.

Gohan grins at all of the praise he's getting. "Thanks dad," the demi-saiyan replies, a slight blush on his cheeks as well. "And thank you too King Kai for your help. Now I would like to ask you one more thing King Kai."

The blue deity in question inclines his head towards the demi-saiyan to show that he's listening, so Gohan continues. "Well since I'm already here, but I hopefully won't be back again for a long time, I would like to know if you could train me in the art of Kaioken." As Gohan asks this, he puts on his biggest son grin and widens his eyes in a way only kids can to help coerce the deity.

King Kai is shocked by his request. "I'm just curious Gohan, but why do you want to learn Kaioken? You aleady can transform into a super saiyan, which not only gives you much higher amplified strength, but also sustains that strength for a much longer period of time."

"That's the thing King Kai," the demi-saiyan replies. "What if I don't want that sustained strength. Think about it. My ki in my super saiyan form is basically broadcasted to everyone who can sense ki. However, Kaioken will give me a short burst of amplified ki that will help me stay undercover a bit better."

The kai of the North grins at the demi-saiyan. Of course King Kai knew that, but he wanted to see the demi-saiyan's reasoning. "Okay Gohan, I'll agree on one condition."

Gohan looks at the blue deity with anticipation. He's really wanted to learn the Kaioken ever since he saw his father do it back against Nappa. "What do I have to do King Kai?"

"You must pass my initiation test," the deity answers. "Everyone who has learned the Kaioken has had to pass this test."

Gohan is practically dying of anticipation. "What is it King Kai?!"

The kai smirks. "You must be able to make me laugh." He says in a very serious tone. This causes both Goku and Gohan to face fault comically.

"A-are you serious?" Gohan exclaims, disbelieve clearly lacing his voice. "You've got to be kidding."

King Kai's smirk drops into a thin line at that. "No Gohan, I'm serious. I will not undertake anyone who doesn't have a sense of humor."

Gohan sweatdrops. How is he supposed to make the deity laugh? He doesn't even know what kind of jokes he finds funny!

Goku, noticing the train of thought his son is in, tries to give him a joke he believes will make the kai laugh. "Hey Gohan," he says, gesturing his son to come over to him. When said demi-saiyan makes his way to his father, Goku continues quietly. "Here try this one…" he then cups his hands to his son's ear and whispers something.

Once his father finishes, Gohan looks at him in shock. "Are you serious?!" He asks indignantly. "That will never work!"

"Trust me son," Goku reassures him, a grin on his face. He knows this will work, and it will also be funny just to see Gohan's reaction.

Gohan gives his father another skeptical look, but complies nonetheless. He makes his way over to King Kai, who is patiently waiting for Gohan's attempt to make him laugh.

"Okay…" Gohan starts, the kai listening intently. The demi-saiyan glances once more over to his father before he continues with his joke. "Why was six afraid of seven?"

Genuinely curious as to where this is going, King Kai responds appropriately. "Why?"

Gohan hesitates before continuing. "Because… because seven, eight, nine…"

King Kai stares at Gohan blankly for a minute until he bursts out into laughter. Gohan sweatdrops at the sight. He didn't think that was funny at all! That had to be one of the worst jokes he ever heard, but alas, it did its job. It made the deity laugh. As the kai continues to laugh, Goku also looks on at the situation with an 'I-told-you-so' look on his face.

After a few minutes, King Kai finally calms down. "Wow, you could be a comedian!" the kai praises. "I should just open my own school of comedy, with you as my star pupil." This makes Gohan sweatdrop once again. "Congratulations!" the deity continues. "You have passed the initiation test. Now you are ready for the art of Kaioken. Normally it could take years to master, but at your level, it should only take a little over a month."

"Alright!" Gohan shouts in glee. He throws his fist into the air to show just how excited he is. Then he suddenly thinks of something he hasn't thought of for a while. "I just remembered! I told Pan that I'd tell her when I was finished with my training so that they could revive dad and I! Do you think I could tell her that I will be ready in a month?"

King Kai quickly shoots Goku a look as if he wants him to interject, which doesn't go unnoticed by the demi-saiyan, but Goku remains silent. Sighing internally, King Kai obliges. "Of course you can Gohan. After all, you did save the planet!"

"Thanks King Kai," Gohan responds genuinely. He doesn't know why his father didn't want to speak up about his decision. That look that King Kai gave him confirms his saiyan side's earlier suspicion that it is the case that his father made a decision to stay dead. Gohan wonders what it is that is causing his father to keep him in the dark.

The demi-saiyan shakes off these thoughts as he walks towards King Kai, who has already made a telepathic link with his daughter from the future, and places his hand on the kai's back. Unlike last time Gohan's mind isn't transported directly to Earth. Instead, it's more like using a telephone. Gohan quickly tells his daughter the news that he conquered his saiyan side and is now training to learn an awesome new technique that will take a month to learn. After much excited jabber from his daughter, he finally tells her that he wants them to wish back both he and his father in a month's time. Pan goes on about how excited she is to see him and she promises, along with Goken and Mirai Trunks, that they will stay to see both him and Goku resurrected. This elicits a warm smile from the demi-saiyan.

Finally, after another half-hour of chatting by Pan, he finally cuts the connection. He would have gladly talked to his daughter for hours, but King Kai was getting annoyed at being used as a telephone and promptly told Gohan to end the conversation.

Goku, while happy that his granddaughter was excited for their return, couldn't help but feel a bit sad during the whole conversation. While he couldn't hear what Pan was saying, the way Gohan reacted was proof enough that she was genuinely excited, and that makes the saiyan feel guilty about getting not only his son's hopes up about coming back, but now his grandchildrens' as well, not to mention all of the other Z-fighters.

For a moment, he reconsiders his decision. He really is giving up a lot by staying dead. It's not like he doesn't want to come home, but he feels it's in everyone's best interest if he didn't return. After a bit of hesitation, he reconfirms his decision to stay, but now he really has to let his son know. He knows that Gohan will be hit the hardest by this, especially after he explains his reasoning. He really hopes that the merger really helped him as much as it appears to have.

"Okay King Kai," Gohan says, impatience and anticipation clear in his voice. "Let's get this party started!"

Goku sighs. It's now or never.

"Hold on Gohan," the saiyan interrupts. "I think it's time to tell you something you should know."

Gohan is taken aback by the somber expression on his dad's face. Is this it? Is he about to spill his secret? "Okay dad…" the demi-saiyan replies, his mood dropping from his cheerful one to a more neutral one. Even though he knows what's coming, he still doesn't know if he's ready to hear it.

Goku takes a deep breath before he continues. Oh how he dreaded this moment so! "Okay…" Goku starts. "Gohan, I think that you should know that…. that I have…" Goku breaks off at that and tries to regain his composure. Why does this have to be so hard?! Finally after a few moments, he regains confidence and decides to just get it over with before he loses it again. "Gohan, I think you should know that I have decided to stay here in Other World permanently." The saiyan closes his eyes and waits or the tears to come…

But they never do.

Goku opens his eyes and looks over towards his son to see a blank expression on his face. He inwardly grimaces since he knows that his son is processing the words he just spoke. As soon as he notices his dad looking at him however, Gohan immediately comes back into reality, though his mood is still a bit down.

"I understand dad," Gohan starts, shocking both Goku and King Kai in the utmost. They both thought he would be devastated by the news. "I know that you wouldn't have made this decision without thinking it through, so could you please just tell me what you're thinking?" Gohan says all of this with a neutral tone, once again stunning both spectators.

While outwardly Gohan appears to be handling the information well, inside he's devastated. Even though he knew it was coming, hearing his dad actually say it makes it seem all the more real. Before, there was still a shred of hope that his saiyan counterpart was wrong about the whole thing. However, once the words actually left his father's mouth, that was the final straw, and the hammer was laid down. He's not coming back.

Still, Gohan doesn't want to get emotional in front of his father. This is because even though deep down, he really wants his father to come home, he doesn't want to influence his father's decision by making him feel guilty. Like he said before, his father probably has a great reason for not coming back, so it must be incredibly important, so important in fact, that he is willing to give the rest of his life on Earth up to fulfill it. Gohan doesn't want to be the one to make his father change his mind just because of his selfish desires if it really is that important.

Gohan truly is a Son.

Goku still is quite shocked at his son's outward appearance. He truly thought that Gohan would be hugging him tightly, crying and begging him to come back. He figures that the training must have done wonders for his mental stability. But still, this outward stoic appearance is a bit too unnerving for the saiyan and he just has to ask his son what's up. "Wow Gohan, to be quite honest, I thought you would take the news much harder."

"I did… when I first found out…" Gohan explains to his father, who once again has eyes the size of dinner plates. It's really taking every bit of Gohan's emotional control to not charge his dad and beg him to come home. He's actually surprised that he has this much control. That merger really did give him more control in many aspects.

"Y-you knew?" Both Goku and King Kai say indignantly at the same time.

Gohan chuckles at their appearance, although he is still hurting on the inside. "Yes, it was completely obvious since every time I mentioned us returning to Earth, King Kai would shoot you nervous or angry glance and then you would grimace. I just wanted to hear it from you dad to confirm my suspicions. I know that you wouldn't stay without a good reason, so I would like to know what it is."

Goku takes a deep breath once again. This may be even harder than telling his son he's not coming home. Sure to him, the reasons make sense and he knows that the choice he made is the right one; however, to his son, he might take blame. He knows his son better than anyone, and he doesn't care how much training he's done, Goku still believes that his son will not take it lightly.

Finally after working up the courage once again, Goku finally tells his reasons to his son. He tells him everything: how he had a feeling that he was bound to die ever since before the Cell Games and how Bojack's appearance just reaffirmed that feeling; he tells him about his reasoning on how every villain seems to be coming to fight him; he tells him about how he thought that taking the great risk of a threat to come to the Earth just so he can come back to life a second time (Goku emphasizes the point that it would be his second time being resurrected) would be just selfish; he also tells him about how he reconsidered this decision after Goten was born and was actually going to come back until Gohan proved to him that he would be an excellent father to Goten in his place.

At this point, Gohan is really taking the news hard and it's starting to show on his face as tears leak out of his eyes. Goku notices this and really reiterates the point that he believes that him living on Earth would bring about more trouble than good. He stresses to Gohan that he wants Goten to have a childhood where he doesn't have to go through what he did and grow up too fast: he wants Goten to have a peaceful childhood full of laughter and happiness. It is at this point where Gohan, while there are still tears in his eyes, nods in understanding.

"I… I think I understand where you're coming from dad…" Gohan finally manages to choke out. "But dad… do you really think that the threats will stop coming just because you're not there?"

"Gohan," Goku replies gently. He knows that his is hard on the chibi. Heck! It's hard on him! "I honestly don't know for sure. Will there always be an chance for a villainous alien or android coming to take the Earth? There's always that chance. But I seriously believe that that chance will be significantly smaller if I'm not there to draw the attention of them."

Gohan once again nods in understanding, but another thought comes to mind. He has to hold back a sob before he continues. "But dad, how can you expect me to be as good of a father as you were to me to Goten? I may be mature for my age, but I'm not you…"

Goku gives his son a soft smile before he replies. He knows his answer to this and he's known it for a while now. "Gohan, I don't expect you to be as good as I was… I expect you to be better!"

Gohan stumbles backwards in shock. "Better?!" Gohan relies, too shocked to say anything else.

The father sighs once more and looks his son in the eyes as he continues his explanation. "Trust me Gohan, you do not want to be like me when it comes to being a father."

Goku explains to his son that he missed out on a lot of his childhood. He gives examples such as how he could have come back to life after he got killed sooner, but had refused to get some more training in with King Kai. He then brings up the example of how he could have returned right away after escaping Planet Namek's destruction, but once again refused so he could master the instant transmission, which he reveals Gohan that he could honestly have done at home. Then, when he did spend time with Gohan, it was preparing for the androids so they would always be fighting. While he knows that Gohan never regretted that time, Goku tells him that he wishes that he could have spent some more personal relaxing time with his son that didn't involve going at each other's throats. He adds that this is the main reason why during the nine days before the Cell Games, he acted the way he did. He had that feeling that he was going to die in the back of his mind and he wanted to spend as much time with his son as possible in ways that didn't involve sparring.

Gohan is speechless. He never would have guessed that his father felt this way about his role as his father. Gohan thought he was an excellent father, despite all of the things he just said.

"The point is Gohan," the saiyan continues. "I want you to learn from my mistakes. Spend as much time with Goten as you can. Cherish every moment. I know I wish I did…" Goku trails off. Getting all of that off of his chest took a lot out of him emotionally, yet he refuses to show signs of it. He needs to be strong for his son!

Gohan however walks over to his father and embraces him. He has finally come to terms with the fact that his father isn't coming back. Sure, he's sad that he's going to be gone permanently, but he finally knows his father's reasoning. He might not agree with some of the aspects, especially the one where he believes that he wasn't that great of a dad, but he accepts his father's reasoning and can see where he's coming from. He knows that his father truly believes that this is the best course of action.

"Thank you dad…" Gohan genuinely says. "… for everything!"

* * *

**Post A/N: Thanks go out to Ky111 for the idea of Gohan learning the Kaioken. **

Translations:

chibi- cute child, dwarf

ki- energy

kai- god

oozaru- great ape


	16. Epilogue

**A/N: Hey hey! It's finally here! The finally addition of Gohan's Legacy: Legacy Through Courage. **

**I would like to thank all of those that have stuck with me throughout this whole story, specifically Pranktical Joker and Ky111. Thank you so much everyone else as well for your continued support!**

**I will now start working on the sequel to this story, Legacy Through Actions. It is going to be quite a while until I post this one since I have yet to start writing it, but once I have a good amount of chapters written, I will do something similar to this with updates every Monday and Friday. **

**I felt so bad about this being late that I worked extra hard to get it out today. I hope you guys like the conclusion to the first chapter for the Gohan's Legacy series.**

"dialogue"

_thoughts_

_"telepathic communication"_

~change in setting~

*action*

**flashback**

* * *

Epilogue

~Capsule Corporation Front Lawn, West City, Planet Earth, Age 768~

It has been a month since the defeat of Bojack and his gang… and also the deaths of Goku and Gohan. The Z-gang is gathered around a spaceship that they plan to take to the Planet New Namek in order to wish back both Goku and Gohan with the dragonballs since they are all too impatient to wait another three months until Earth's balls are back. Besides, they need Namek's balls to wish back Goku; and Gohan said they'd be ready in a month anyways.

Two days after the events at the Intergalactic Tournament, everyone who could feel ki was taken by surprise when they could feel an extremely powerful ki from extremely far away. Everyone was also able to recognize the ki immediately, as it was a ki everyone knew very well. It came as a total shock to everyone for two reasons: one is that the person who possessed that particular ki is dead, and two is because it was just so gigantically huge that it was overwhelming.

Not too much later, the ki disappeared and Pan got a telepathic call from Gohan. He had informed her that his training was quite successful and that he was undergoing more training that would be completed in one month's time. This was also the time that Gohan had asked her to tell everyone to wish them both back after that month was over.

After a long chat with her father, Pan finally went around to tell everyone the news. Everyone had been ecstatic that Gohan's training went so well and started formulating a plan to go to New Namek in a month. Pan had also gone to Mirai Trunks with the proposal that they stay until her daddy and grandpa came back which was met with overwhelming agreement, so it comes as no surprise that Mirai Trunks, along with Pan and Goken are still here despite the fact that they were to leave after the tournament was over.

The most surprising appearance among the Z-gang however is Android Eighteen. She was on the other side of the world recovering from her embarrassing defeat at the hands of an eight year old (who she later found out was the son of Gohan from the future) when her ki sensors picked up an enormous efflux of ki coming from the tournament grounds she was just at. Thanks to Gohan's heroic actions of setting her free, she vowed to never terrorize humans again, but protect them since she was saved by the hands of a half-human; thus, she felt the need to check out this gigantic ki.

She also had developed somewhat of a soft spot for that bald human that took care of her during the whole Cell debacle. She will never forget how he could have shut her down with the shut-off remote and easily destroyed her, but he had refused, crushing the remote in order for her to escape. Even though she eventually ended up getting absorbed anyways, she also remembers him putting his life on the line to protect her when Cell was trying to absorb her. Finally, despite the fact that she played it off as nothing major on the lookout, that wish to remove the bomb inside of her was really a big deal to the android. She had always hated the fact that she was made into a blasted machine by that damn Dr. Gero; having her bomb removed allowed her to feel more like a normal human and for that she was extremely grateful.

By the time she got to the scene however, everything had already transpired. She flew into the Northern Arena of the Battle Dome only to find the whole Z-gang in the middle of discussing plans about how to get to New Namek. As soon as everyone caught site of the female android, there were mixed reactions.

Mirai Trunks, Pan, and Goken were obviously quite angry at her sudden appearance. Initially, Krillin and Yamcha had to hold off two very angry chibis from attacking the android until the others reassured them that she is different than the one in their timeline. Still, while they stopped their attack, they were somewhat irritated in her presence. Only time will allow them to accept the android.

Piccolo and Vegeta had looks of indifference, although the latter was a bit irritated as well remembering how she embarrassed him before. He then remembers however that he is now much stronger than her and could probably beat her quite easily now. A smirk crept its way on the saiyan's face at the thought.

Yamcha, Tien, Chiaotzu, Bulma and Chichi were confused. They had no idea why the android would suddenly show up after all of this time. She had stayed in hiding the whole time after the Cell Games and the group hadn't heard from her since.

Krillin and Master Roshi seemed to be ecstatic at the android's return. Master Roshi was excited because of his perverted nature. He was happy that he found another 'hottie' to goggle at. Krillin however was excited at her reappearance due to the fact that the bald monk had developed a crush on the female android ever since she gave him a peck on the cheek ten months ago. He had been searching far and wide to find her, but never had any success. Finally, she came back and Krillin is extremely glad.

Even though the initial attack was held off, the female android was still questioned thoroughly. Everyone wanted to know why the person that was so set on killing them before and terrorizing everyone else would come back. It was then that Eighteen explained everything. She started by explaining to them that, while she fought the Z-gang, she never had any intention of actually killing any of them besides Goku. She even explained that she never even wanted to kill _him_, but that her and Seventeen were just going on that mission for something to do. When this explanation was seriously questioned, she gave them the example of when Vegeta had blindly gone after them and everyone ended up in the scrap. She explains to them that while she roughed them up, she didn't kill them or leave them with fatal injuries. She even explained that she and Seventeen weren't the ones that attacked, but it was Vegeta that attacked _them_. This event of course was confirmed by the majority of the Z-fighters, all of whom were there.

Eighteen continues with the fact that while they were going about their business, they did not once hurt anyone besides those who attacked them directly. She tells the Z-gang that all of the civilian deaths were caused either by Cell, or Dr. Gero himself, and that she, Seventeen, and Sixteen didn't actually kill anyone. The Z-gang of course questions this as well since there is no solid proof that they didn't cause any destruction, with especially harsh comments coming from the people from the Mirai timeline.

At this point however, Krillin speaks up and defends the female android, much to said android's shock. He explains to the Z-gang that if she truly had harmful intentions before, they certainly are gone now. He reminds them about how she hasn't caused any trouble since the Cell Games and explains to them that the fact that she came back shows that she truly cares about the planet since she came in response to a threat, even if it was a tad late.

This shut up most of the Z-fighters, but Mirai Trunks, Pan, and Goken were still skeptical. This is just too far of a cry from the ruthless, merciless Android Eighteen of their timeline. What if she actually came back to attack them? Eighteen tries to explain that she's changed thanks to the actions of both Gohan and Krillin, causing the bald monk present to blush and rub the back of his head sheepishly. She also stated that she would like to prove that she's changed by becoming part of the Z-gang. When everyone questioned her intentions, she coerced them by telling them that this would help them keep a better eye on her and that if she does anything suspicious that they can do what they want with her. She knows that she's not the strongest anymore and that she will stay in line with their beliefs. After the heartfelt soliloquy, the Z-gang had no choice but to accept the android into the group.

"This doesn't mean we have to like you, or that we even trust you!" Trunks added, still skeptical about the whole thing.

Eighteen rolled her eyes at the future boy's distrust. Of course it's understandable given her Mirai counterpart's actions, but he should know better than anybody that she's a completely different person than her counterpart. Still, she was glad that everyone else was willing to give her a chance to prove herself to them, and so, that's why you see her with the Z-gang currently.

Over the last month, Eighteen has been living with the Z-fighter that she felt the most comfortable with: Krillin. Unfortunately for her, Krillin was also living with the lecherous Master Roshi. She has forgotten how many times she's had to give the old marital arts master a beating for all of his comments and perverted actions. Still, it's been worth it for her to be with Krillin, who she is starting to find she actually likes a lot more than the others. She has no clue why; perhaps it's his sense of humor, or the fact that he always is shy and nervous around her that gives him a cute appearance, or the fact that he was the only one to defend her so adamantly. Either way, she seems to be falling for the bald monk, although nothing has happened between the two as of yet.

Now at this point, you're probably wondering what happened with Hercule and Videl Satan after the recent events that just took place.

The Intergalactic Tournament was cancelled due to the high magnitude earthquake; therefore leaving the tournament unfinished. This obviously came as a great relief to Hercule. He recognized the people fighting in the finals and he knew that he wouldn't have had a chance and would have most likely embarrassed himself. Combine that with the fact that the whole audience was able to recognize the mystery warriors from the time that Goken transformed in the prelims, and he most likely would have been called out for lying about defeating Cell, therefore destroying his reputation completely! He thanks Dende that he didn't have to go through that.

Videl on the other hand was furious that they cancelled the tournament. She was about to find out the truth about her father! Even before the tournament she had her suspicions that her father was lying about Cell. How could he be that powerful to defeat a being that could destroy entire cities, yet only barely hold his own against her? The last time they sparred, which she admits was a while ago, she could tell that her father was trying his best based off of the amount he was sweating and panting, yet she doesn't believe that she could have even stood a chance against the green grasshopper. Still, she believed him for a while based off of his explanation that Cell only looked impressive because of pre-planting bombs and doing light tricks. To her, this was believable since a being with as much power as Cell apparently had just seemed preposterous. She, just like the rest of the world, blew it off as some incredibly well planned terrorist attack… that is, until she fought _him_ in the prelims.

Gohan Son

When she fought Gohan, she was clearly baffled. He seemed to be skilled well beyond his years. She couldn't even hit the kid more than once, and when she did hit him, it felt like punching a steel wall! Then each punch he connected with threw her dozens of feet away! He had only connected twice, and both times she was overwhelmed by the power in the blow, yet when she looked at him, it appeared as if he wasn't trying at all! How preposterous! She is the daughter of Hercule Satan, yet he was able to beat her in two blows without even trying! This did do one thing though, and that was open her eyes to the fact that there are people stronger than her father. Suddenly the possibility that her father was lying about everything became a very real possibility again.

She was however surprised by Gohan's kindness. She admits that he was incredibly good looking. She didn't however expect that he would dive in after she fell off the platform and help her swim to shore. She still has no clue why she allowed him to help her since usually doesn't accept help from anyone. She confused herself even more when she gave him a hug after he told her who his sensei was. Perhaps it was the fact that by telling her that his father taught him proved that her father had been lying about Goku Son, a famous martial artist who she really respected, being a fraud for the past nine months; perhaps her judgment was clouded by her physical attraction to the boy; perhaps it was a combination of both! Whatever it was, she really surprised herself by her actions, but after that, she became determined to become his friend and get answers out of him.

Later in the month, about a week after the tournament was cancelled, the news came out that there were six casualties from the earthquake. It was discovered that all of the Intergalactic Fighters as well as two of the finalists had died during the event. Strangely though, there was no evidence of any of the bodies, so they weren't able to determine which of the competitors were killed. This got Videl worried as she remembers that Gohan was one of the finalists, as well as his dad Goku. She became incredibly persistent to find them after that news was announced, but as of yet she hasn't found any evidence either for or against the argument that they died. This works to only worry the young Satan even more since ever since she met Gohan, she really wanted to confront him once more and become his friend. She continues her search for the two Sons to this day, refusing to believe that they died at the tournament.

Anyways back with the Z-gang…

Now everyone is ready to go to planet New Namek. The whole Z-gang is present since everyone wanted to see both Goku and Gohan resurrected since they are both incredibly important to everyone present. It took a while, but Bulma and her father were finally able to build a spaceship that both was big enough to hold everyone comfortably for an extended period of time, and fast enough to get to New Namek within a few days. Dr. Briefs estimated that it would take approximately two days with the new upgrades, hence why they're leaving two days before Gohan told them to wish them back.

Everyone starts to climb aboard the brand spanking new spaceship. It has a similar design to that of Dr. Briefs' original spaceship that Goku used to get to the original planet Namek to fight Frieza. It has a dome shaped ceiling that is black on the outside. The inside is set up similarly as well, with a training chamber on the top with gravity adjustments that can go as high as 350 G's and the living area below equipped with all of the necessary living space for 20 people to be able to live comfortably. Of course the only person they really expect to use the GR is Vegeta so everyone else will most likely be staying down in the cabin the majority of the trip.

With that, Dr. Briefs, who has opted to stay behind, starts the countdown sequence from outside the ship. Bulma, after telling everyone to get ready for takeoff, starts the launch sequence. After a five second countdown, the ship blasts off towards parts unknown with one destination in mind:

New Namek.

* * *

~North Snake Way, Upper Heaven North Quadrant, Other World~

"Alright Gohan! Now is your final test," the voice of a certain blue deity of the north carries through the area. "You must beat your father in a spar using nothing but the Kaioken for ki amplification. Goku, you can go up to the first level of super saiyan."

For the past month, Gohan has been undergoing the intense training that comes with the art of Kaioken. He has made remarkable progress and can now wield the technique at will. The demi-saiyan was pleased to discover that one of the side effects of the merger with his saiyan side was that his ki manipulation skills have increased dramatically from what they were before. King Kai had said this was because the flow of his ki is now much more natural instead of split and now he has access of _all_ of his ki instead of not having the portion controlled by his saiyan side. This has allowed him to quickly learn the Kaioken technique and helped him control the ki flow that it gives. His body can withstand up to four times amplification without him feeling any side effects, and the highest he's been able to safely push himself is up to ten times.

Gohan had also spent a lot of time helping his father out with the second level of super saiyan. It was a long and arduous process, but even though he cannot transform at will yet, the transformation comes a lot easier to Goku now than it had previously. He tells Gohan that once he masters this transformation that he will contact him through King Kai and tell him. Although King Kai snorts at the idea of being used as a telephone again, he sighs and agrees to let Goku do this since he believes he deserves it. He does however say that this will not become a common occurrence and that the dead shouldn't be able to talk to the living in the first place. Gohan frowns, but nods in agreement to this statement.

Of course Gohan wasn't training all of the time. No, not after what his father had told him. He spent a good amount of down time just relaxing with his father as well. They both know that his is the last time they will be able to spend time together in a very long time, so they're trying to make the most out of it and spend as much of it as they can outside of fighting.

This time however is an exception. Gohan just nods at King Kai and starts to power up as high as he can in his base form. A gust of wind comes from the demi-saiyan as a white aura explodes around him. This continues for a little while until Gohan's ki plateaus and the aura steadies around him.

Goku grins at his son before putting on his serious face. He had learned long ago to never go lightly on his son. He needs to give his best against him so he scans Gohan's ki and does a quick mental calculation to see how far in his super saiyan form he needs to go. He knows that even with Kaioken, Gohan would stand no chance against him if he went full power in the first super saiyan level, but he wants to go high enough where when Gohan is at his max (times 10 Kaioken) that he still has a challenge. He figures this out and instantly jumps to super saiyan. There's no gust of wind or even a golden aura as he transforms, yet his hair spikes up and turns an almost bleached blond and his eyes turn to a teal color. His ki level is about as high as Goken's was when he fought Android Eighteen at the Intergalactic Tournament.

"Alright Gohan, show me what you've got!" Goku taunts his son by waving his hand towards himself in order to get him to attack.

Gohan doesn't hesitate. He charges his father at speeds that are incredibly fast for normal standards, but to Goku, his son is moving in slow motion. About five feet before his father, Gohan shouts, "Kaioken times four!" Suddenly, Gohan is engulfed in a dark crimson aura and his speed and strength increase four-fold. With this new temporary strength, Gohan goes for a punch to his father's jaw, which the saiyan blocks. The amplified strength was higher than the saiyan expected however, so his guard almost breaks from the force of the blow.

Gohan doesn't stop there. He continues to assault his father, using Kaioken to amplify his strength right before every punch. Since Kaioken is so abrupt and quickly disappears as soon as the blow is dealt, it's almost undetectable when he does it. King Kai notices this and can't help but grin. He knows that this is how Kaioken is supposed to be used. Most people would flood their bodies with the ki for extended periods of time, essentially trying to achieve a super saiyan like effect. The nature of the technique however makes it so that this puts tons of unnecessary strain on the body if sustained for a longer period of time. It is only meant for quick bursts of power, not sustained power and it appears Gohan has figured that out.

This surprises the kai somewhat since even Goku made the mistake for using it for a sustained period of time on Earth against Vegeta, although he figured it out against Frieza. Perhaps he taught his son this. Either way, King Kai is impressed with young Gohan, despite the fact that he is struggling at the moment.

Gohan is currently lying on his back, panting heavily after his father delivered a strong roundhouse kick to his side. He's been pushing himself all the way to Kaioken times eight and he really is starting to feel the effects of it. Even though he's only been using it in short bursts, these bursts are starting to wear on his muscles. The demi-saiyan refuses to give up however and decides to go all out. He struggles to his feet and glares at his father, who has a smile on his face. The demi-saiyan draws his white aura around him once more and charges his father once more.

"Kaioken times ten!" he shouts.

_Okay, this is it!_ Goku silently muses. _After this he's done. He actually made me work really hard with that last assault. It will be hard not to raise my ki level at this point._

As Gohan connects his fist with his father's solar plexus, a voice suddenly enters his mind.

_"Gohan Son,"_ a big booming voice sounds in Gohan's head. The demi-saiyan recognizes the voice, but can't remember where it's from. It surprises him so much that he stops his assault. Goku, taking advantage of his son's momentary lapse in concentration, gives him a strong uppercut, sending the demi-saiyan backwards.

"Dad!" he shouts indignantly. "That's no fair! That voice distracted me!"

"Voice?" Goku asks, confused. "I didn't hear a voice. What are you talking about?"

_"Gohan Son!" _the voice says once again, much more impatient this time. Gohan quickly figures out from his father's confusion that this voice is in his head and decides to respond in kind.

_"This is Gohan Son. What do you want?"_

_"A wish has been made to Porunga to restore your life," _the voice booms once more _"Do you wish to fulfill this wish?"_

Realization strikes Gohan in that moment. That's where that voice is from: it's the voice of Porunga! _"Yes I would bu–"_

_"Very well, your wish has been granted!" _Porunga cuts off the demi-saiyan.

"No!" Gohan yells out loud now, realizing that he is being revived at this very second. His halo is already disappearing and his body is being transported to New Namek. "I didn't get a chance to–"

The demi-saiyan is cut off by his disappearance to the living realm. Goku and King Kai's eyes both widen at the sudden disappearance, neither of them expecting that in the least.

"King Kai, can I please talk to Gohan so I can at least say goodbye?" Goku pleads desperately. He quickly figured out what transpired and realizes that his son was wished back already.

This time King Kai doesn't make a fuss. Even _he _didn't expect that! "Of course Goku. Just let me find his ki signature and I'll connect you two. In fact, now that I think about it, I should probably just connect you to everybody so you can tell them about your decision personally."

Goku sighs in relief. While he wishes that he could say goodbye in person, at least he'll be able to say it through King Kai. He puts on a sad smile as he patiently waits for the deity to make a mental connection with his son and the rest of the Z-gang.

* * *

~Elder Muri's Village, Planet New Namek~

"–say goodbye!" Gohan finishes his sentence that he started in Other World.

He jumps when he hears a loud roar of cheers and then falls onto his back as he is tackled by two blue blurs. He figures out quickly that these blurs are non-other than his children from the future, Pan and Goken.

"Daddy!" they both cry, sobbing out of pure joy. He's finally back! Their daddy's finally alive and back with them!

Gohan quickly returns the hug, trying with all of his might to stop from crying himself. Sure he's happy he's alive, and he's very excited that he finally is able to hold his children once again, but a part of him is crushed that he didn't even get to say goodbye to his father, who he knows isn't going to come back.

Both future chibis calm down and look up to their father, grinning like wild. Their grins fade as they immediately know something is wrong. Gohan may have been hiding it well enough to fool the normal person, but his children are experts at reading emotions, and they can tell that their daddy is sad about something.

"Daddy?" Pan softly asks her father, concern etched in her voice. Both she and Goken ignore all of the cheers of joy that her father is alive from the rest of the Z-gang, focusing solely on their father, who at the moment is on the verge of tears. "What's wrong?"

"Yeah daddy," Goken adds. "You just got wished back to life, yet you're sad… Why is that?"

Gohan looks down at the two concerned faces of his children and can't help but smile in spite of himself. Leave it to Pan and Goken to find out that something is wrong. *sigh* "It's nothing too big guys" he assures his kids. He looks down and his eyes once again become downcast. "I just never got to say goodbye to your grandfather that's all."

The two chibis from the future look at their father with matching confused expressions. "What are you talking about daddy?" Pan finally speaks up. "What do you mean you never got to say goodbye to grandpa? He's coming back with you! That's why we're here in the first place!"

As Gohan is about to explain to his children that his father decided not to come back, the subject of their conversation interrupts their conversation. Apparently the group had attempted to wish back Goku while they were having this conversation, and Porunga had stated that Goku had refused. Everyone is crying their outrages at the dragon god until a cheerful voice echoes throughout the area.

_"Hey don't I get a say in this?" _Goku asks telepathically.

"Goku, what are you talking about?" shouts a furious Chichi. She can't understand what is going on. Her husband is refusing to come back?

_"Gohan,"_ Goku continues, ignoring the outrageous shouts of his wife, although he finds it difficult. Back in Other World, one could see Goku visibly flinch at each indignant shout. This is no easier for him than it is for everyone else, but he knows it's the best decision so he pushes forward. _"I'm sorry I didn't get to say goodbye in person, but I would like the chance to say it now. Not just to you either, but to your mother, to Goten, to Pan and Goken… to everyone… guys… what I'm saying is that I've decided to stay here in Other World…"_

Not a sound is heard for the next few moments as everyone takes in what Goku just said. He's not coming back? He's choosing to stay dead instead of coming back to them?

The silence is interrupted by a loud 'thud' in the grass. After comprehending what her husband just stated, the Son matron promptly fainted, overwhelmed by the information that her husband isn't coming back. Luckily Bulma was able to take baby Goten from her grasp before she fell. Goten surprisingly didn't put up a fuss, but appears to be on the verge of tears at the sight of his mother. Still, the blue haired genius is finding it hard not to faint herself. Goku was her best friend… and now he's gone… for good. The whole Z-gang in fact, besides Gohan and Eighteen (who never really knew the guy), is undergoing similar reactions to the news, although Piccolo and Vegeta don't show it outwardly.

Goku tries to hold back his own tears at the site of everyone's reaction. King Kai is using the type of telepathy that he used when he showed Gohan what was happening on Earth that allows him to feel like he's present among the group. He saw his wife faint and now he sees the looks of utter despair on the faces of everyone else besides Piccolo, Vegeta, Eighteen, and his son, who is trying to comfort his children. He however sucks it up and continues.

Goku goes over with everyone his explanation of why he's staying dead, leaving out the part about him believing that Gohan would be a better father than he would. He does however go over how he had the feeling that he was going to die ever since the Cell Games. He explains how the Bojack scenario really drove this feeling home. He then goes into his explanation that everyone who attacks the Earth seems to be after him. He concludes by telling everyone that he's doing this not because he doesn't want to come back, but because he loves them all so much that he wants to keep the world safe by not coming back.

Of course the initial reaction by the Z-gang is adamant denial. Krillin seemed to be the most adamant in his want for Goku to come back, asking him incredulously if he seriously thinks that all of the enemies are only after him. Goku however defends his position expertly, having done it already in Other World with Gohan. Finally, after a good fifteen minutes of arguing, the bald monk, as well as everyone else, finally comes to terms with the fact that the man loved by all is not coming back.

_"I'm sorry guys… this is hard for me too, but don't worry about me. I'm going to have a blast here with King Kai! Apparently there's a planet up here where the best warriors from the past gather and train. I'm excited to check it out, so no being sad about my death, you hear? I'm going to be making the most of this and enjoying myself so you guys got to do the same. Promise me that much okay?"_

"You bet dad!" Gohan shouts to Other World, a smile on his face. "I know I will!"

_"That a boy Gohan!" _Goku replies enthusiastically. _"And everyone, take care of Gohan and Goten for me. I know you guys will do your best to look out for them. So I guess… this is goodbye everyone… See ya when you die!"_ Goku shouts the last part with enthusiasm as the telepathic link between worlds disconnects.

The somber mood stays in the air for a long time as everyone continues to think about everything Goku said. The depressing mood however is interrupted by giggling from a certain one month old infant as he stretches his arms out towards his brother, who he hasn't seen in a month. This seems to snap everyone out of the funk they were in and everyone now pays attention to the interaction between the two brothers as Gohan makes his way over to his mother (she recovered shortly after she fainted, but was silent for the rest of the time) to grab the giggling chibi.

Gohan notices for the first time how much his little brother has grown in the past month. He seems to have grown a good six inches and he already looks bigger. As he takes him, Goten goes into his familiar routine and snuggles close to his brother's chest, grinning the entire time. Gohan can't help but smile at the sight of his little brother. After all, he's the one that motivated him to keep on fighting back when he was struggling with his saiyan side. Without the little bundle of life in his arms, Gohan probably would be under the influence of his saiyan side right now.

The cute scene between the two Son brothers causes Chichi to smile for the first time since he husband told her that he's not coming back. She at least has her two boys with her, and she knows that Goten won't be lacking in the father figure department. Everyone else (besides Piccolo, Vegeta, and Eighteen of course) seems to be moved by the sight as well and they all start to smile as well. Soon, everyone breaks out into memories of the good times they had with Goku.

Yes. Everyone seems to be healing, slowly, but surely from the devastation of the death of one of if not the greatest man to walk the earth.

Both Pan and Goken walk over to Gohan, who is still playing with Goten. It is then when Goken notices something strange about his daddy. "Daddy, why do you have a tail?" he asks curiously. Surprisingly he doesn't seem freaked out by the fact that he actually has a tail. This comment also catches the attention of a certain saiyan prince, who glances over to Gohan and scowls when he realizes that the kakabrat is right.

It is then that Gohan notices that he has been subconsciously rubbing the now sleeping Goten's forehead with his tail. He quickly turns to his children and wraps his tail around his waist. "Oh that…" Gohan replies. He realizes that neither Pan nor Goken had ever been exposed to a saiyan with a tail since they apparently weren't born with them and Goten's was removed as soon as he was born. "Hehe well believe it or not, I was born with this tail, but it was cut off a long time ago and never grew back. Ever since my training in Other World however, it grew back. King Kai said it was a side effect of that training."

"OOH Daddy!" Goken cries excitedly. "You told us that you would tell us all about your training!"

Gohan chuckles at his son's enthusiasm. "Yes I did, and I'll tell you all about it on the spaceship on the way back to Earth."

"You promise?" Goken asks innocently. His lower lip is sticking out and his eyes are wide giving him an incredibly cute appearance.

"Yes I promise Goken," Gohan responds, smiling at Goken's expression.

"Okay!" he replies, now grinning happily. He can't wait to see what kinds of stories his daddy has for him about his trip to Other World.

"Alright, now which one of you guys wants to hold your uncle?" He asks, knowing that both of them are going to want to.

As expected, both simultaneously claim him. Gohan had to eventually settle the score and in the end, gave Goten to Pan. After that situation was settled, Gohan walks over to Elder Murray to thank him for allowing them to use the dragonballs to wish him back to life. Apparently everyone was so shocked by Goku's decision that no one noticed that the Namekians told Porunga that there was no need for the rest of the wishes and then went back to whatever they were doing before. The eldest namek smiles warmly as he notices Gohan walking over.

"Ah yes, Gohan," the elder greets the demi-saiyan. "Welcome back to the living world."

Gohan rubs the back of his head sheepishly. "Ah shucks, thanks Great Elder! And thank you again for allowing my family and friends to wish me back."

"Oh please," Murray replies, waving his hand in a dismissive gesture, "with everything that you and your father have done for us it was the least we could do."

A small blush makes its way to Gohan's cheeks at that comment. "Gosh, I don't know what to say to that. Thanks Elder Murray!"

"You're quite welcome young Gohan." the eldest namek replies. "And now it looks like it's time for you to go young one." He gestures to the rest of the Z-gang who appears to be boarding the space ship.

As if on cue, Goken's voice rings through the air. "Daddy! Hurry up! You have to tell me about your training!" he then runs over to the spaceship ready to go back home.

Chuckling at his son's antics, Gohan turns his attention back to the elder. "Alright, I guess this is goodbye Great Elder. Once again, thank you and I hope that you all have a long happy era of peace." After this he bows respectfully to the Namekian.

Elder Murray returns the bow. "Same goes for you young one. You guys are always welcome here. I doubt this will be the last we see of each other."

Gohan walks back over to the spaceship and gets on with all of the rest of the Z-gang. Apparently they were all waiting for him. Soon after, the ship blasts off and heads back to planet Earth.

* * *

~Capsule Corporation Front Lawn, West City, Planet Earth~

The flight back to Planet Earth was rather uneventful. Gohan spent the majority of the time telling everyone about his experience in Other World. He must have told his story about his battle with his saiyan side at least five different times, and for all five times Goken was present. He just loved hearing about how strong and brave his daddy was and he loved how exciting it was. Gohan would just shake his head and smile at his son's antics. Apparently the kid looks up to him. Who would have guessed?

He also got caught up with what happened on Earth the past month he was gone. He was somewhat surprised to learn that Android Eighteen became part of the Z-gang. He of course knew that she wasn't like the androids in the Mirai timeline and figured that she wouldn't do anything to bad, but he never expected the rest of the Z-gang to allow her into their intimate group. After she welcomed back Gohan warmly once she saw him however, it became pretty apparent that she had changed for the better.

He couldn't help but observe the android's interactions with Krillin. She seemed like a completely different person with him. With everyone else, she acts with an heir of indifference, appearing stoic and cold. With Krillin however, she smiles and laughs and opens up a lot more. The more he sees her, the more she reminds him of Piccolo. To everyone else, Piccolo is stoic and shows little emotion, but to him, he reveals himself a lot more. Gohan grins at the comparison.

Soon, the spaceship lands on the front lawn of Capsule Corps. Both Dr. Briefs and his wife are out there to greet them. Mrs. Briefs is holding a one-year-old Trunks who was left in the care of his grandparents during the trip. As soon as Gohan exits the ship, Trunks waves towards him and yells "Go'an!"

Apparently Gohan is extremely popular with kids.

The demi-saiyan in question chuckles at the chibi's reaction. Before Goten was born, Trunks and Gohan were inseparable. Gohan used it as 'practice' for when Goten was born and Trunks just loved the demi-saiyan's company. Of course Gohan loved being with the little guy as well. As a result, Gohan, or Go'an, became the lavender haired demi-saiyan's first word, much to the agitation of a certain saiyan prince.

Once everyone gets off the ship, they now prepare for another departure. Yes, the visitors from the Mirai Timeline have overstayed their welcome in this timeline unfortunately. As much as they love it here, they have their own timeline to rebuild.

Of course this didn't mean that the departure would be easy…

Pan and Goken had grown so incredibly close to their father from the past that it is insane. They don't want to leave because frankly, they love him too much to never see him again! And they just got him back too!

Gohan feels the same way. In the week and a half that he got to know his children, he has formed an unbreakable bond with them. He will be devastated to see them leave, even though he's been preparing himself for this moment for the last two days. He knew that once they got back to Earth that they would have to leave right away, but not all of the time in the world could have fully prepared him for letting go of his children.

As Mirai Trunks uncapsulates the time machine, both chibi's from the future approach their father with watery eyes.

"Thank you daddy…" Goken starts before he breaks down into sobs and hugs his father, sobbing into his shirt.

"Daddy…" Pan tries to fight back her tears. She doesn't want to make this any harder than it has to be. "I just wanted to say… *sniff* that… I-I…" finally her resolve breaks and she rushes her father and embraces him as well.

Gohan fights back tears of his own as he tries to calm his children down. This is incredibly difficult for all of them. Gohan patiently waits for them to stop crying as he sooths them in the ways he's grown accustomed to.

Finally, after five minutes of crying, Pan and Goken let go of their father and face him, trying to gain their courage to say goodbye to the person they have grown to love more than anyone. Finally Pan speaks up.

"Daddy," she starts, much more composed than before. "I want to thank you for everything you've done for us… for treating us like your kids even though you didn't have to… I just wanted to say that… I love you daddy!"

"Y-yeah," Goken adds. While he's more composed than before, he still is almost tearing up again. "I love you too daddy… Thank you…"

Gohan doesn't know how else to react other than hugging them again. He is truly touched by both the content and the sincerity of their statements. "No problem guys…" Gohan replies, his voice flooded with emotion. "I would do anything for you guys… I love you both more than anything in the universe."

That did it. The two chibis from the future break down once more. They don't want to leave their daddy to go back to a timeline where he died. It just isn't fair!

Eventually though, Pan and Goken are able to calm down once again and make their way over to the time machine with Mirai Trunks.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye everyone," Trunks says before popping open the top of the time machine. "Hopefully I won't have to visit you guys for any new threats in the future."

"Let's hope not." a teary eyed Bulma replies. She however is able to retain herself from crying. "Take care son. Enjoy living in a world of peace for a change."

"I will mom," Trunks replies. "I'm more excited for these two. Now they can finally grow up in a world where you don't have to look around every corner to see if one of the androids will pop out at you." He then puts one hand on each of their heads and looks down at them. "Are you guys ready?"

Both chibis nod numbly. They really don't want to go, but they realize that staying in this timeline any longer will only derail it further from what it's supposed to be. With their nods of confirmation, Trunks gets into the cockpit of the time machine and the chibis follow, squeezing in so they all fit.

Trunks enters the coordinates to be about two days after they left for this timeline. He then presses the ignition switch and the time machine comes to life with a roar. It slowly rises into the air until it gets to a certain altitude where it hovers for a moment. In this moment, Pan and Goken take one last glance at their father and each gives him a smile and a wave before the time machine disappears from this timeline.

As he watches his future children disappear from this timeline, a single tear drips down Gohan's cheek. He however smiles at their memory. Believing that his words will somehow transcend the barriers of space and time, Gohan speaks his final words to his kids.

"Goodbye my children… be safe… I love you…"

* * *

Translations:

chibi- cute child, dwarf

ki- energy

kai- god

sensei- teacher, master


End file.
